2 research outputs found
Assessment of hepatitis B surface antigen negative blood units for HBV DNA among replacement blood donors in a hospital based blood bank in Nigeria
Background: Hepatitis B virus infection is one of the greatest threats
to blood safety all over the world. The laboratory algorithm based on
only the detection of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) leaves a gap
for infected HBsAg negative donors to donate blood during the
\u201cwindow period\u201d (WP) and late stages of infection.
Objective: To estimate the frequency of the presence of HBV
deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) in HBsAg negative blood units screened
using two different assays for HBsAg in a high endemic region. Methods:
Frozen serum aliquot of 100 replacement blood donors who donated blood
units that were HBsAg negative were retrieved and tested for HBV DNA.
Sample positive for HBV DNA was sequenced by Sanger\u2019s method,
genotyped and the viral load was determined. Results: One sample (1%)
was positive for HBV DNA. The HBV viral load of the sample was 768,000
IU/ml. The partial S-gene of the Hepatitis B virus isolated was
genotype E using the NCBI viral genotyping tool. Conclusions: There is
still a risk of HBV infected blood unit escaping detection when donor
testing is limited to HBsAg screening. The use of NAT which can
substantially reduce HBV infected blood donors from the donor pool
should be considered