Sero-prevalence of hepatitis B infection among blood donors in a secondary care hospital, Ghana (2014): a retrospective analysis

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of transfusion associated hepatitis B virus infection varies across different geographical populations. Establishing the sero-prevalence of the disease is important to informing the direction of preventive and control strategies. We sought to estimate the sero-prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen among blood donors in Ho Municipal Hospital, Ghana. METHODS: This was a retrospective study which involved reviewing of blood donation records for the year 2014 in Ho Municipal Hospital. The records were analysed to determine the prevalence of hepatitis B virus among blood donors. Data analysis was done using STATA statistical package. RESULTS: A total of 576 blood donors were screened in 2014, out of which 520 (90%) were males and the rest females. The overall sero-prevalence of hepatitis B virus was 7.5% (95% CI 5.6–9.9%). The prevalence was highest (8.9%; 95% CI 5.6–14.0) among donors between 30 and 39 years old and among females (14.3%; 95% CI 7.4–25.7). Females were about 2.5 times more likely to be HBsAg positive compared with males (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that the study region is of intermediate to high endemicity with hepatitis B infection. Generally, females are more likely to be HBsAg positive than males. Planning more extensive screening and vaccination campaigns and educational programmes would help reduce the transmission of the infection among the general population.