Sindhuja Kondareddy1
BACKGROUND Transfusion Transmissible Infections (TTIs) like HIV, HBV, HCV, syphilis and malaria are major problems associated with blood transfusion practices. Because of shared modes of transmission, co-infection with HIV, HBV and HCV is a significant occurrence. Apparently, healthy blood donors may carry double viral co-infections that might be more fatal than viral mono-infection for the donor himself as well as recipient later on. Hence the study was undertaken to analyse the prevalence and patterns of co-infections among blood donors in our geographical area. MATERIALS AND METHODS All blood donors attending to the blood bank at Anam Chenna Subba Reddy (ACSR) Government General Hospital, Nellore during the period January 2013 to December 2017 were screened for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), anti HCV antibody, anti-HIV-1, 2 antibodies by using the appropriate Enzyme-Linked Immuno-Sorbent Assay (ELISA) method and further confirmed using an ELISA kit from a different manufacturer. The Rapid Plasma Reagin (RPR) test was used for estimation of syphilis infection. RESULTS Of the 11,234 donors who were screened during the study period, 10 (0.08%) were reactive for different combination of infections. The various combination of infections seen were as follows; HIV + HBV (5/10), HBV + HCV (3/10), HIV + HCV (1/10), and HIV + Syphilis (1/10). CONCLUSION Effective control strategies including a stringent screening of all blood donors, public awareness programs and institution of adequate public health measures are urgently needed.
