(P-TS-112) Seroprevalence and Trends in Transfusion -Transmissible Infections Among Blood Donors in the Middle Belt of Ghana: A Five Year Study at AngloGold Ashanti Health Foundation, Obuasi

Background/Case Studies: Blood transfusion remains an important medical intervention globally, saving the lives of millions of individuals. Over 81 million blood donations occur annually in the world. However, shortages exist in low-resource settings and the little hat we have are of higher transfusion-transmitted infections. The undetected presence of infectious agents, particularly during the window period of infections, poses a serious threat to the safety of blood and blood products. Individuals who test positive during screening are not offered specific counselling or follow -up care, leaving them unaware of their infectious status and at risk of further transmission. This study was undertaken with the aim of determining the seroprevalence of HBV, Syphilis, HCV and HIV apparently among healthy blood donors.

Study

Design/Methods: A retrospective study was conducted to ascertain the presence of transfusion-transmitted infections among blood donors who reported for donation of blood at AngloGold Ashanti Health Foundation Hospital-Obuasi from January 2019 to December 2023. Samples were screened with qualitative immunochromatographic rapid test strips for hepatitis B surface antigen(HBsAg), antibodies to HCV, HIV types 1 and 2, and Treponema pallidum using rapid plasma reagin test(RPR) respectively.

Results/Findings: Total number of prospective blood donors screened were 8584. Among the donors, the majority, 7878(91.8%) were males and 4253(49.5%) were of aged 26 to 35 years. 1852(21.6%) had serological evidence for at least one transmissible infection.
Out of the 1852, the seroprevalence of Syphilis, HBV, HCV and HIV were found to be 8.8%,8.5%,3.5% and 2.4%, respectively. 1.6% were of multiple infections. Significantly, increased of seropositive of transfusion-transmissible infections were observed among family or replacement donations.Taking into account sociodemographic and risk factors of TTI's among blood donors, male donors exhibited significantly higher odds of HBV (OR:2.58, 95%CI: 1.73-3.84,p< 0.001), HCV (OR:2.05, 95% CI: 1.17-3.58, p=0.012), and Syphilis (OR: 2.46, 95% CI: 1.67-3.61, p< 0.001) compared to female donors.

Conclusions: A greater number of healthy blood donors harbour transfusion transmissible infections and serve as a potential source of infections.The high prevalence of TTI's observed in the communities studied calls for a stricter blood screening guidelines wholistically for blood safety. There should be regular education, counselling and advocacy to promote positive behaviour and highly sensitive diagnostic test kit thereby reducing the risk of TTI's.