Screening for viral markers in volunteer and replacement blood donors in West Africa

Background and Objectives West Africa is a highly endemic area for viral infections. The prevalence of five viral markers was determined in Ghanaian blood donors. Materials and Methods Replacement and volunteer blood donors were screened using enzyme immunoassays (EIAs) for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), human immunodeficiency virus antibodies (anti-HIV), HIV p24 antigen, human T-cell lymphocytotrophic virus-I and -II antibodies (anti-HTLV-I/II) and hepatitis C virus antibodies (anti-HCV). Results HBsAg was present at an equally high frequency (15%) in young volunteer (median age 18 years) and older replacement (median age 33 years) blood donors. In contrast, the prevalence of anti-HIV and anti-HCV was significantly higher in replacement blood donors (24 and 0.3%, respectively, P < 0.001). HCV RNA was detected in 74 or 55% of seropositive donors, depending on the confirmatory criteria used. No p24 antigen-positive/anti-HIV-negative donations were found. The prevalence of HTLV-I/II was generally low (0.5%). Conclusion All blood donations should be screened for hepatitis B virus (HBV), HIV and HCV markers.