Journal of Blood Medicine (Jan 2022)
First Report from Afghanistan on the Prevalence of Blood-Borne Infections: A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Multicentre Study for an Epidemiological Assessment
Abstract
Enayatullah Hashemi,1 Usman Waheed,1 Noore Saba,2 Akhlaaq Wazeer3 1Afghan National Blood Safety and Transfusion Service, General Directorate of Curative Medicine, Ministry of Public Health, Kabul, Afghanistan; 2Peshawar Regional Blood Centre, Provincial Ministry of Health, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan; 3Mirpur Regional Blood Centre, State Ministry of Health, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, PakistanCorrespondence: Usman Waheed Email [email protected]: The transfusion of blood and blood components has a significant role in healthcare services. However, it remains a possible risk factor for blood-borne infections. The present study was conducted to assess the prevalence of serological markers of common blood-borne infections among the blood donor population of Afghanistan.Methodology: This was a cross-sectional study based on retrospectively collected data over a period of six years from 284 blood centres across 34 provinces of Afghanistan. Every blood donor’s sample was tested by rapid immunoassays for the serological markers of blood-borne infections namely hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), anti-hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV), anti-human immunodeficiency virus 1/2 (anti-HIV1/2), and anti-Treponema pallidum (anti-TP).Results: All blood donors during the study period were males. The majority of blood donations were from the family replacement category 56.93% (n = 544,568). The overall pooled prevalence of blood-borne infections was 4.36% with a comparatively higher percentage in family replacement donors 4.88%. The seropositivity for HBsAg, anti-HCV, anti-HIV1/2, and anti-TP was 2.95%, 0.81%, 0.04%, and 0.54%, respectively.Conclusion: Complete reliance on voluntary blood donors and screening with quality assured highly sensitive assay is recommended to ensure blood safety in the country.Keywords: blood, screening, Afghanistan, hepatitis, HIV, syphilis