Hepatitis C virus seropositivity and the risk factors for transmission among blood donors in some selected centers in Lagos State, Southwest Nigeria

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infects about 0.5% to 2.3% of the world population with most of the cases occurring in developing countries. It is primarily transmitted through transfusion of blood and blood products. There exists dearth of information on burden and circulation of HCV and their attendant health challenges in Nigeria. This study was therefore designed to determine the seroprevalence rate and risk of HCV transmission among blood donors in Lagos State Nigeria.

Methodology: Blood samples were collected between January 2002 and December 2006 from 3,002 consenting (Male = 2,922; Female = 80; Age range = 18–63; Median age = 32 years) donors in five selected public hospitals’ blood donation centers between 2002 and 2006. Sera was tested for anti-HCV by ELISA technique. Demographic and other relevant information were obtained by a semi-structured questionnaire to assess risk factors for HCV transmission.

Results: This study found an overall rate of 3.1% for anti-HCV among the blood donors sampled. Highest rate of 6.0% for HCV was found among participants age ranged ≥50 years and lowest in the age group 40–49 years. Prevalence of HCV was higher in female (6.3%) than in male (3.0%) and was 0.21 times less risky in female compared to their male counterparts (OR = 1.29, 95%CI 0.11–1.31). By location, MSCH had the highest HCV rate (3.9%) and lowest (2.1%) in GHOA. Sharing of sharps for tattoo/tribal markings had a statistical association (p = .0379) with HCV infection. However, no significant difference was found by gender (CI = 0.99–2.01; p = .1002), age (CI = 0.79–1.55; p = .1001) and location (p = .5326).

Conclusion: The relatively high prevalence of HCV infection detected and the risk of transmission among blood donors in this study are of public health importance. Hence, the institution of appropriate measures to stem down the trend of HCV circulation among this population in Nigeria is therefore advocated.

KEYWORDS:

• Hepatitis C virus
• seroprevalence
• ELISA technique
• blood donors
• Nigeria

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank all the participants for their cooperation. They express their gratitude to the management, directors, and staff of the five blood donation centers in Lagos including the Lagos State Health Management Board for their approval for the study.

Declaration of conflict of interest

Authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

Authors’ contributions

(a) Study Design (All authors)

(b) Sample collection (DAB, BAS, AJA)

(c) Reagent acquisition and Laboratory and Data analysis (All authors)

(d) Wrote the first draft of the manuscript (DAB)

(e) Revised the manuscript (All authors)

(f) Read and approved the final draft (All authors)