Seroprevalence of HBV and HCV in blood donors: A study from regional blood transfusion services of Nepal

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Hepatitis B and hepatitis C are significant health problems that might involve the late sequel of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. A high prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) in blood donors poses an increased risk of window period transmission through blood transfusion. The present study aimed to know the seroprevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) among blood donors in regional blood transfusion services of Nepal. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a retrospective study conducted among blood donors in Banke (5,211), Morang (5,351), and Kaski (5,995) blood transfusion services. Serum samples were tested for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and anti-HCV antibodies using rapid enzyme immunoassays. The donors information was collected via the donor record register through their respective blood transfusion services. The software “Winpepi ver 3.8” was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: The seroprevalence rate of HBV was highest in the Banke (1.2%) followed by Biratnagar (0.87%) and Kaski (0.35%) (P < 0.0001). The seroprevalence of HCV was highest in the Morang (0.26%) followed by Kaski (0.16%) and Banke (0.11%) (P > 0.05). The seroprevalence of HBV was significantly higher than HCV in all three blood transfusion services. The burden of HBV as well as HCV seems to be higher in male donors (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: The study revealed that the seroprevalence of HBV was alarmingly higher in two of the three blood transfusion services. Implementation of community-based preventive measures and improved strategies for safe blood supply might prove useful to decrease the seroprevalence.