TY - JOUR
T1 - Prevalence and incidence of transfusion-transmissible infections among blood donors in Malawi
T2 - A population-level study
AU - Singogo, Emmanuel
AU - Chagomerana, Maganizo
AU - Van Ryn, Collin
AU - M'bwana, Robert
AU - Likaka, Andrew
AU - M'baya, Bridon
AU - Puerto-Meredith, Sydney
AU - Chipeta, Effie
AU - Mwapasa, Victor
AU - Muula, Adamson
AU - Reilly, Cavan
AU - Hosseinipour, Mina C.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Authors. Transfusion Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Blood Transfusion Society.
PY - 2023/12
Y1 - 2023/12
N2 - Background: Voluntary non-remunerated blood donors (VNRBDs) are essential to sustain national blood supplies. Expanding testing capacity for the major transfusion-transmitted infections (TTI) is crucial to ensure safe blood products. Understanding trends in TTIs can inform prioritisation of resources. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort data analysis of routine blood donation data collected from VNRBDs by the Malawi Blood Transfusion Service from January 2015 to October 2021. Variables included age, occupation; and screening results of TTIs (HIV, Hepatitis B and C, and syphilis). We estimated both prevalence and incidence per person-year for each TTI using longitudinal and spatial logistic regression models. Results: Of the 213 626 donors, 204 920 (95.8%) donors were included in the final analysis. Most donors (77.4%) were males, baseline median age was 19.9 (IQR 18.0, 24.1), 70.9% were students, and over 80.0% were single at first donation. Overall TTI prevalence among donors was 10.7%, with HBV having the highest prevalence (3.4%), followed by syphilis (3.3%), then HIV (2.4%) and HCV (2.4%). Incidence per 1000 person-years for syphilis was 20.1 (19.0, 21.3), HCV was 18.4 (17.3, 19.5), HBV was 13.7 (12.8, 14.7), and HIV was 11.4 (10.6, 12.3). We noted geographical variations with the northern region having lower rates of both prevalence and incidence compared to central and southern regions. Conclusion: The individual TTI prevalence and incidence rates from this study are consistent with Southern African regional estimates. By identifying geographical variations of TTI prevalence and incidence, these findings could potentially inform prioritisation of blood collection efforts to optimise blood collection processes.
AB - Background: Voluntary non-remunerated blood donors (VNRBDs) are essential to sustain national blood supplies. Expanding testing capacity for the major transfusion-transmitted infections (TTI) is crucial to ensure safe blood products. Understanding trends in TTIs can inform prioritisation of resources. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort data analysis of routine blood donation data collected from VNRBDs by the Malawi Blood Transfusion Service from January 2015 to October 2021. Variables included age, occupation; and screening results of TTIs (HIV, Hepatitis B and C, and syphilis). We estimated both prevalence and incidence per person-year for each TTI using longitudinal and spatial logistic regression models. Results: Of the 213 626 donors, 204 920 (95.8%) donors were included in the final analysis. Most donors (77.4%) were males, baseline median age was 19.9 (IQR 18.0, 24.1), 70.9% were students, and over 80.0% were single at first donation. Overall TTI prevalence among donors was 10.7%, with HBV having the highest prevalence (3.4%), followed by syphilis (3.3%), then HIV (2.4%) and HCV (2.4%). Incidence per 1000 person-years for syphilis was 20.1 (19.0, 21.3), HCV was 18.4 (17.3, 19.5), HBV was 13.7 (12.8, 14.7), and HIV was 11.4 (10.6, 12.3). We noted geographical variations with the northern region having lower rates of both prevalence and incidence compared to central and southern regions. Conclusion: The individual TTI prevalence and incidence rates from this study are consistent with Southern African regional estimates. By identifying geographical variations of TTI prevalence and incidence, these findings could potentially inform prioritisation of blood collection efforts to optimise blood collection processes.
KW - BLOODSAFE Project
KW - blood transfusion
KW - cohort data analysis
KW - incidence
KW - prevalence
KW - spatial modelling
KW - transfusion transmissible infections
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U2 - 10.1111/tme.13006
DO - 10.1111/tme.13006
M3 - Article
C2 - 37828838
AN - SCOPUS:85173792846
SN - 0958-7578
VL - 33
SP - 483
EP - 496
JO - Transfusion Medicine
JF - Transfusion Medicine
IS - 6
ER -