Prevalence of infectious diseases among Mongolian blood donors.

OBJECTIVES This study estimates the prevalence of screened infections: human immunodeficiency (HIV), hepatitis B (HBV) virus, hepatitis C (HCV) virus, brucellosis, and syphilis among Mongolian blood donors. METHODS This report is based on routine data collected from simple questionnaires completed by a sample of consecutive donors visiting the Blood Center between August 2004 and February 2005. RESULTS Seropositivity rates were as follows: HIV 0%, HBsAg 8.1% (n=185), anti-HCV 8.7% (n=195), brucellosis 3.3% (n=75), and syphilis 2% (n=44). HBsAg seropositivity was concentrated among young donors less than 20 years of age (P<0.01) while anti-HCV seropositivity tended to increase significantly with age. CONCLUSION The prevalence of HBV and HCV among Mongolian donors is very high and appears to be differentially distributed by age. The data suggests further studies are warranted to identify key risk factors for blood-borne infections and to develop population-specific interventions to interrupt transmission.