Trends of coinfections among healthy blood donors: COVID-19 pandemic repercussion.
cross_sectional · Level IV
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 39629426.
- Also identified by DOI 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_120_24 and PMC identifier 11610891.
- Licence recorded as CC BY-NC-SA.
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Abstract
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), and hepatitis C virus (HCV) coinfection has emerged as a leading cause of morbidity throughout the world in the last two decades. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has escalated the disease burden further by increasing the number of intravenous (IV) drug abusers and unemployment. The present study was done to analyse the impact of COVID-19 on seroprevalence as well as trends during pre, post and pandemic years of coinfection and mono-infections in the Malwa region of Punjab. This descriptive cross-sectional study was done in the department of immunohematology and blood transfusion at a tertiary care hospital. The data on transfusion-transmitted infections (TTIs) was collected for a period of four years from 2019 to 2022, that is, pre, post and during the pandemic period. All the blood samples were screened for viral markers, HIV I and II, HCV, and hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique. Malarial antigen and syphilis infection testing was done using a rapid diagnostic card test. The total number of sero-reactive cases and their distribution were noted. A total of 58,953 donors were screened and included during the study period. Each blood donor was identified by a donor registration number. The overall TTI seroprevalence in blood donors was 2.83% (n = 1670). The seroprevalence of TTIs in blood donors showed an increasing trend for HIV, HCV, and HBsAg in 2019-2021, whereas there was a decrease in reactivity status in the 2022 (back to pre-pandemic year). There was a significant increase in the coinfection rate from 0.1% to 0.25%. The COVID-19 pandemic impact on the coinfection rate of TTI was significant. To curb these TTIs and coinfections, education and public awareness are the key factors. India is a developing country, so transfusion medicine specialists need to work day and night to practice safe blood services.