Prevalence and trend of hepatitis C virus infection among blood donors in Chinese mainland: a systematic review and meta-analysis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Blood transfusion is one of the most common transmission pathways of hepatitis C virus (HCV). This paper aims to provide a comprehensive and reliable tabulation of available data on the epidemiological characteristics and risk factors for HCV infection among blood donors in Chinese mainland, so as to help make prevention strategies and guide further research.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A systematic review was constructed based on the computerized literature database. Infection rates and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated using the approximate normal distribution model. Odds ratios and 95% CI were calculated by fixed or random effects models. Data manipulation and statistical analyses were performed using STATA 10.0 and ArcGIS 9.3 was used for map construction.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Two hundred and sixty-five studies met our inclusion criteria. The pooled prevalence of HCV infection among blood donors in Chinese mainland was 8.68% (95% CI: 8.01%-9.39%), and the epidemic was severer in North and Central China, especially in Henan and Hebei. While a significant lower rate was found in Yunnan. Notably, before 1998 the pooled prevalence of HCV infection was 12.87% (95%CI: 11.25%-14.56%) among blood donors, but decreased to 1.71% (95%CI: 1.43%-1.99%) after 1998. No significant difference was found in HCV infection rates between male and female blood donors, or among different blood type donors. The prevalence of HCV infection was found to increase with age. During 1994-1995, the prevalence rate reached the highest with a percentage of 15.78% (95%CI: 12.21%-19.75%), and showed a decreasing trend in the following years. A significant difference was found among groups with different blood donation types, Plasma donors had a relatively higher prevalence than whole blood donors of HCV infection (33.95% <it>vs </it>7.9%).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The prevalence of HCV infection has rapidly decreased since 1998 and kept a low level in recent years, but some provinces showed relatively higher prevalence than the general population. It is urgent to make efficient measures to prevent HCV secondary transmission and control chronic progress, and the key to reduce the HCV incidence among blood donors is to encourage true voluntary blood donors, strictly implement blood donation law, and avoid cross-infection.</p

Study of the h(c)(1(1)P(1)) meson via psi(2S) -> pi(0)h(c) decays at BESIII

Using 448 million psi(2S) events, the spin-singlet P-wave charmonium state h(c)(1(1)P(1)) is studied via the psi(2S) -&gt; pi(0)h(c) decay followed by the h(c) -&gt; gamma eta(c) transition. The branching fractions are measured to be B-Inc(psi(2S) -&gt; pi(0)h(c)) x B-Tag (h(c) -&gt; gamma eta(c)) = (4.22(-0.26)(+0.27) +/- 0.19) x 10(-4), B-Inc (psi(2S) -&gt; pi(0)h(c)) = (7.32 +/- 0.34 +/- 0.41) x 10(-4) , and B-Tag (h(c) -&gt; gamma eta(c)) = (57.66(-3.50)(+3.62) +/- 0.58)%, where the uncertainties are statistical and systematic, respectively. The h(c)(1(1)P(1)) mass and width are determined to be M = (3525.32 +/- 0.06 +/- 0.15) MeV/c(2) and Gamma = (0.78(-0.24)(+0.27)+/- 0.12) MeV. Using the center of gravity mass of the three chi(cJ) (1(3)P(J)) mesons [M(c.o.g.)], the 1P hyperfine mass splitting is estimated to be Delta(hyp) = M(h(c)) - M(c.o.g.) = (0.03 +/- 0.06 +/- 0.15) MeV/c(2), which is consistent with the expectation that the 1P hyperfine splitting is zero at the lowest order

Observation of chi(cJ) -> Lambda(Lambda)over-bar(eta)

By analyzing (448.1 +/- 2.9) x 10(6) psi(3686) events collected with the BESIII detector operating at the BEPCII collider, the decays of chi(cJ) -&gt; Lambda(Lambda) over bar (eta) (J = 0, 1, and 2) are observed for the first time with statistical significances of 13.9 sigma, 6.7 sigma, and 8.2 sigma, respectively. The product branching fractions of psi(3686) -&gt; gamma chi(cJ) and chi(cJ) -&gt; Lambda(Lambda) over bar (eta) are measured. Dividing by the world averages of the branching fractions of psi(3686) -&gt; gamma chi(cJ), the branching fractions of chi(cJ) -&gt; Lambda(Lambda) over bar (eta) decays are determined to be (2.31 +/- 0.30 +/- 0.21) x 10(-4), (5.86 +/- 1.38 +/- 0.68) x 10(-5), and (1.05 +/- 0.21 +/- 0.15) x 10(-4) for J = 0, 1 and 2, respectively, where the first uncertainties are statistical and the second systematic