Prevalence of Hepatitis B virus infection among blood donors at the Yaounde Military Hospital, Cameroon

Abstract

Blood transfusion can provide life-saving therapeutic benefits to patients. However, many infectious agents including Hepatitis B virus (HBV) can be acquired from infected transfused blood. HBV infection is a serious public health problem facing the world today. The aim of this study was to determine the seroprevalence of Hepatitis B virus infection among voluntary blood donors at the Yaounde Military Hospital, Cameroon. A cross sectional study was conducted on blood donors from August 2013 to August 2014, to assess the prevalence of Hepatitis B virus infection. A total of 313 study subjects were recruited and tested for Hepatitis B surface antigen using the rapid chromatographic immunoassay and ELISA. The results showed that, of the 313 blood samples tested, 277 were negative and 35 were positive for HBsAg; giving an overall Hepatitis B prevalence of 11.2%. The blood donors were comprised of 275 males and 38 females. The prevalence of HBV infection could be high among voluntary blood donors in Cameroon; hence it demands more vigilance in routine screening of donated blood prior to transfusion.

Keywords: Prevalence, Hepatitis B virus, voluntary blood donors, screening.