HIV Sero-Prevalence Trend among Blood Donors in Jimma University Specialized Hospital, Southwest Ethiopia

BACKGROUND: HIV/AIDS epidemics continue unchecked in African countries at all level of society bearing the heaviest burden of the scourge. Different researches have been done to see the progress of disease from time to time However, information that shows the trend of HIV among the healthy population over a period of time in Ethiopia is very limited. METHODS: A descriptive retrospective cross-sectional study was carried out to see the trend of HIV Sero-positivity and associated socio-demographic factors. The data was retrieved from records of people who donated blood during the period of January 2007 to December 2010, at Jimma University Specialized Hospital (JUSH). Data on socio-demographic variables and serologic status of the subjects were abstracted from their records using structured format. Then the data were cleaned, edited and entered into computer and analyzed by Microsoft Excel sheet. Then Chi-Square (X(2)) Statistical test was used for testing associations and P value less or equal to five percent (P ≤ 0.05) was considered significant. RESULTS: A total of 3788 subjects had donated blood from 2007 to 2010 of which 3034 (80.1 %) were males. Thirty nine (1%) of the donors were positive for HIV upon screening by Enzyme Linked Immuno Sorbent Assay (ELISA) method. The prevalence of HIV infection was 1.2% for males and 0.5% for females. The age specific prevalence was highest in the age group 30–39 years (2.2%) followed by 40 – 49 (1.4%). HIV sero-prevalence was higher among rural dwellers (1.4%) than urban (0.8%); drivers and their assistants (2.8%), and daily laborers (2.6%) had higher prevalence. Similarly, those who donated blood for replacement purpose had higher sero-prevalence (1.5%) as compared to those on voluntary basis (0.3%). CONCLUSION: There is decreasing trend of sero-positivity over the years, with higher prevalence among sexually active age groups and rural dwellers.