Seropositivity of Hepatitis B and C in Healthy Blood Donors at Ghurki Trust Teaching Hospital, Lahore
Maham Fatimah, HibaTehrim, HarramFayyaz, FauziaSadiq, SarwarBhatti
371
ABSTRACT
Background: The annual requirement of blood in Pakistan
is roughly estimated to be 1.5 million bags1. However, to meet such
a demand many health protocols are neglected which give rise to the most feared
complication; Viral Hepatitis. Hepatitis B (HBV) and Hepatitis C (HCV)
infections are known to materialize very frequently in the general population.
This is because their mode of transmission is through blood and its related
products.
Aim: To
estimate the seroprevalence of HBV and HCV in voluntary blood donors of the
local area surrounding Ghurki Trust Teaching Hospital, Lahore.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at
GTTH, Lahore from 1st January 2019 to 31st December 2019.
It was implemented on a total of 17914 healthy volunteers. All of them were
screened for Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and anti-hepatitis C antibodies
(anti-HCV antibodies) by Abbott Architect Ci 4100. The male patients’ ages
varied from 20 to 60 years and the females’ ranged from 20 to 35 years.
Results: Out of 17914 volunteers, 17799 were males and
115 were females. 368(2.05%) volunteers were tested positive overall (HBV, HCV)
out of which 150 volunteers had HBV (0.83%) and 218 had HCV(1.22%). Out
of 150 HBV positive volunteers only 8 were females (5.3%) and the rest 142
(94.67%) were males.
Conclusion: This
study disclosed that the widespread presence of HCV is much higher than HBV in
the population and males in general are the majority carriers of these
infectious agents. Rigorous awareness campaigns, screening and health protocols
are required to reduce the occurrence of Hepatitis B and C in the general
population.
Keywords: HBsAg, HCV, Healthy
volunteers
ABSTRACT
Background: The annual requirement of blood in Pakistan
is roughly estimated to be 1.5 million bags1. However, to meet such
a demand many health protocols are neglected which give rise to the most feared
complication; Viral Hepatitis. Hepatitis B (HBV) and Hepatitis C (HCV)
infections are known to materialize very frequently in the general population.
This is because their mode of transmission is through blood and its related
products.
Aim: To
estimate the seroprevalence of HBV and HCV in voluntary blood donors of the
local area surrounding Ghurki Trust Teaching Hospital, Lahore.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at
GTTH, Lahore from 1st January 2019 to 31st December 2019.
It was implemented on a total of 17914 healthy volunteers. All of them were
screened for Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and anti-hepatitis C antibodies
(anti-HCV antibodies) by Abbott Architect Ci 4100. The male patients’ ages
varied from 20 to 60 years and the females’ ranged from 20 to 35 years.
Results: Out of 17914 volunteers, 17799 were males and
115 were females. 368(2.05%) volunteers were tested positive overall (HBV, HCV)
out of which 150 volunteers had HBV (0.83%) and 218 had HCV(1.22%). Out
of 150 HBV positive volunteers only 8 were females (5.3%) and the rest 142
(94.67%) were males.
Conclusion: This
study disclosed that the widespread presence of HCV is much higher than HBV in
the population and males in general are the majority carriers of these
infectious agents. Rigorous awareness campaigns, screening and health protocols
are required to reduce the occurrence of Hepatitis B and C in the general
population.