Hepatitis B virus infection among first-time blood donors in Italy: prevalence and correlates between serological patterns and occult infection

A prospective, 1-year study was performed among Italian first-time, volunteer blood donors, who account for 12% of all donations, in order to assess the frequency and serological patterns of hepatitis B virus infection and the presence of occult infection. Consecutive donors (n=31,190) from 21 blood...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Blood transfusion = Trasfusione del sangue 2013-04, Vol.11 (2), p.281-288
Main Authors: Romanò, Luisa, Velati, Claudio, Cambiè, Giuseppe, Fomiatti, Laura, Galli, Claudio, Zanetti, Alessandro Remo
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Blood - virology
Blood Donors
Blood Safety
DNA, Viral - blood
DNA, Viral - isolation & purification
Female
Hepatitis B - diagnosis
Hepatitis B - epidemiology
Hepatitis B - transmission
Hepatitis B Core Antigens - blood
Hepatitis B Core Antigens - isolation & purification
Hepatitis B Surface Antigens - blood
Hepatitis B Surface Antigens - isolation & purification
Hepatitis B virus - isolation & purification
Humans
Italy - epidemiology
Male
Middle Aged
Original
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Summary:A prospective, 1-year study was performed among Italian first-time, volunteer blood donors, who account for 12% of all donations, in order to assess the frequency and serological patterns of hepatitis B virus infection and the presence of occult infection. Consecutive donors (n=31,190) from 21 blood transfusion centres, from age classes not subjected to universal HBV vaccination, were tested for HBsAg and anti-HBc by commercial immunoassays. Other HBV serological markers were searched for and qualitative and quantitative assessments of HBV-DNA were made in HBsAg and/or anti-HBc-positive individuals. Of the 31,190 donors studied, 100 (0.32%) were positive for both HBsAg and anti-HBc, 2 for HBsAg (0.01%) alone, and 2,593 (8.3%) for anti-HBc. Of these last, 86.7% were also positive for anti-HBs (with or without anti-HBe), 2.9% were positive for anti-HBe without anti-HBs and 10.4% had no other HBV markers (anti-HBc alone). A general north-south increasing gradient of HBV prevalence was observed. Circulating HBV-DNA was found in 96.8% of HBsAg-positive subjects as compared to 0.55% (12/2,186) of anti-HBc-positive/HBsAg-negative subjects, with higher frequencies among anti-HBs-negative than among anti-HBs-positive ones (1.68% vs. 0.37%; p
ISSN:1723-2007
DOI:10.2450/2012.0160-12