Seroprevalence of Australia Antigen (HBsAg) among Blood Donors in Local Population

(1) To determine the Seroprevalence of HBsAg in the local population in and around Junagadh (Gujarat) from January-2011 to December-2014 (2) To compare the prevalence of seropositivity of HBsAg with other regions in India Materials and methods: A retrospective study was conducted on blood donors over a period of 4 years to assess the prevalence of hepatitis B virus infection. Two different testing methods (1) rapid HBsAg card test (HEPASCAN) and (2) HBsAg ELISA test (MICROSCREEN) were used for screening purpose. First method was based upon the principle of Rapid Visual Single Step Immuno-chromatographic Assay and Second method was based upon the principle of ELISA. Results: A retrospective study was carried on 21,918 blood donors out of which 13,246(60.434%) were in-house donors and 8,672(39.566%) were outdoor (camp) donors .19,955 (91%) donors were male & 1,963(09%) donors were female. Out of 21,918 blood units collected, 1,121(5.115%) blood units were discarded. Out of 1,121 discarded units 166(14.810%) units were HBsAg reactive. The prevalence of HBsAg seropositivity was found to be 0.757%. Conclusion: Blood donors represent apparently healthy population of a particular geographical region. Occasionally out of them, some people are found to be reactive for Australia Antigen and many other similar antigens as well as antibodies. So to reduce Seroprevalence of HBsAg, more sensitive screening assays and proper donor selection are must.