Demographic Characteristics and Burden of Transfusion‑Transmissible Co‑Infections in HBsAg‑Positive Blood Donors at a Tertiary Care Hospital in North India.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.56450/JEFI.2026.v4i01.015Keywords:
Hepatitis B virus, blood donors, clinical staging, linkage to care, viral hepatitis, transfusion-transmissible infectionsAbstract
Introduction: Chronic hepatitis B infection remains a major public health issue in India, and asymptomatic blood donors can constitute an important reservoir for silent transmission. Epidemiological profiling of HBsAg‑positive donors helps in identifying high‑yield groups for enhanced screening and targeted preventive interventions within blood transfusion services. Methods: This cross-sectional observational study was conducted on 150 HBsAg-positive blood donors between April 2024 and August 2025. Sociodemographic data, donor type and donation frequency, ABO/Rh blood group, and serological status for HIV and syphilis were extracted and summarized. Results: All 150 HBsAg‑positive donors were male, predominantly aged 21–40 years (92.0%), with most residing in rural areas (57.0%) and educated up to higher secondary level (92.0%). B blood group (34.9%) and O blood group (26.8%) were most frequent, and nearly two‑thirds (62.0%) were first‑time donors, with only 4.6% having more than five lifetime donations. Co‑infection with HIV was detected in 6.7% and syphilis in 2.7%, including 2.7% with combined HIV–syphilis infection, while the vast majority were negative for other TTIs. Conclusion: Although overall TTI co‑infection prevalence was modest, the presence of HIV and syphilis among these donors underlines the importance of strict pre‑donation screening, universal serological testing, and post‑test linkage to care for infected individuals.
Downloads
References
1. World Health Organization. Global hepatitis report 2017 [Internet]. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2017. Available from: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/global-hepatitis-report-2017 [accessed on 12/09/25].
2. World Health Organization. Global database on blood safety: report 2016 [Internet]. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2017. Available from: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/global-status-report-on-blood-safety-and-availability-2016 [accessed on 12/09/25].
3. Christoph Seeger, Wesley S. Mason. Molecular biology of hepatitis B virus infection. Virology. 2015;479-480:672-86.
4. Wesley S. Mason. Molecular biology of hepatitis B virus infection. Virology. 2015;479-480:672-86.
5. Dominique Candotti, Sylvie Laperche. Hepatitis B virus blood screening: need for reappraisal of blood safety measures? Transfus Clin Biol. 2017;24(1):3-6.
6. Puneet Kaur, Sabita Basu. Transfusion-transmitted infections: existing and emerging pathogens. J Postgrad Med. 2005;51(2):146-51.
7. Hashem B. El-Serag. Hepatocellular carcinoma. N Engl J Med. 2011;365(12):1118-27.
8. Don Ganem, Alfred M. Prince. Hepatitis B virus infection—natural history and clinical consequences. N Engl J Med. 2004;350(11):1118-29.
9. European Association for the Study of the Liver. EASL clinical practice guidelines on non-invasive tests for evaluation of liver disease severity and prognosis: 2021 update. J Hepatol. 2021;75(3):659-89.
10. Anita Batham, Narula D, Toteja T, Sreenivas V, Puliyel JM. Systematic review and meta-analysis of prevalence of hepatitis B in India. Indian Pediatr. 2007;44(9):663-74.
11. R. N. Makroo, Hegde V, Chowdhry M, Bhatia A, Rosamma NL. Seroprevalence of infectious markers and their trends in blood donors in a hospital based blood bank in north India. Indian J Med Res. 2015;142(3):317-22.
12. Sangeeta Pahuja Sindhwani, Sharma M, Baitha B, Jain M. Prevalence and trends of markers of hepatitis C virus, hepatitis B virus and human immunodeficiency virus in Delhi blood donors: a hospital-based study. Jpn J Infect Dis. 2007;60(6):389-91.
13. Anna S. F. Lok, Brian J. McMahon. Chronic hepatitis B: update 2009. Hepatology. 2009;50(3):661-2.
14. Yun-Fan Liaw, Chia-Ming Chu. Hepatitis B virus infection. Lancet. 2009;373(9663):582-92.
15. World Health Organization. Global status report on blood safety and availability 2016 [Internet]. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2017. Available from: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/global-status-report-on-blood-safety-and-availability-2016 [accessed on 12/09/25].
16. Jean-Pierre Allain. Occult hepatitis B virus infection: implications in transfusion. Vox Sang. 2004;86(2):83-91.
17. Giovanni Raimondo, Allain JP, Brunetto MR, Buendia MA, Chen DS, Colombo M, et al. Statements from the Taormina expert meeting on occult hepatitis B virus infection. J Hepatol. 2008;49(4):652-7.
18. Mona Seyed Attaran, Hosseini SM, Fakhari J, et al. Comprehensive sero-virological profiling of HBV in asymptomatic blood donors in Iran. Iran J Microbiol. 2017;9(3):121-9.
19. World Health Organization. WHO guidelines on drawing blood: best practices in phlebotomy [Internet]. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2010. Available from: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241599221 [accessed on 12/09/25].
20. Abbott Laboratories. ARCHITECT i2000SR system operations manual [Internet]. Abbott Diagnostics Division; 2019. Available from: https://www.corelaboratory.abbott [accessed on 12/09/25].
21. S. Badhan, Sharma R, Yadav P, et al. Hepatitis B virus seroprevalence among blood donors in North India: a one-year study. Asian J Transfus Sci. 2023;17(1):23-9.
22. S. Pathak, Chandrashekhar M, Agrawal P, et al. Seroprevalence of HBV, HCV and HIV among blood donors in North India. Indian J Pathol Microbiol. 2013;56(2):152-5.
23. B. S. Yadav, Sharma A, Singh P, et al. Seroprevalence of transfusion-transmissible infections among blood donors in a tertiary care hospital in North India. Indian J Hematol Blood Transfus. 2016;32(1):61-7.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Emmanuel Jabakumar, Dr.Sanjib Gogoi, Dr. Sangeeta Pahuja Sindhwani, Dr. Amit Kumar Sharma, Dr.Manoj.B Jais (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
