The prevalence of hepatitis B and C among blood donors at the National Blood Transfusion Center (CNTS) in Burundi

Abstract

Introduction: in Burundi, blood safety is one of the concerns of the Ministry of Public Health and Fight against AIDS. To this end, all donor blood bags must be screened for hepatitis B and C, that is the reason why the National Blood Transfusion Center (CNTS) has an Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA); better chain to perform these tests properly. This study aimed to highlight the prevalence of hepatitis B and C among blood donors at the National Blood Transfusion Center of Burundi for a period from the January the 1^st to the 30^th of June 2016.

Methods: this retrospective study was conducted among blood donors (both sexes) aged between 18 years and 50 years. The objective was to collect from the registration registers and the monthly activity reports, the results of the ELISA test obtained after the diagnosis of hepatitis B and C of the blood donors from 1^st January to 30^th June 2016.

Results: in our series of 8,993 samples tested, the prevalence of HBV was 1.04% and HCV was 1.12%. No association VHB- HCV was recorded.

Conclusion: this study showed a low prevalence rate which shows a clear improvement in preventative measures for donor selection and screening tests.