Anti‐HBc screening in Egyptian blood donors reduces the risk of hepatitis B virus transmission

Abstract

Occult hepatitis B virus (HBV) in blood donors is considered as a potential risk for transmission of HBV infection. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of anti-hepatitis B core antibody (anti-HBC) positivity in Egyptian blood donations as well as to estimate the frequency of HBV-DNA in anti-HBc-positive donations. The study included 760 Egyptian healthy blood donors, representing 26 different Egyptian governorates screened according to routine practice for the presence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibodies (Abs), HIV-1/2 Abs and Treponema Abs. The accepted blood units for donation were tested for the presence of total anti-HBc Abs by two tests. Positive units for anti-HBc were further tested for HBV-DNA by polymerase chain reaction. According to routine screening, a total of 48/760 units (6.3%) were rejected [38 (5%) HCV-Ab-positive units, 9 (1.18%) HbsAg-positive units and 1 (0.13%) Treponema-Ab-positive unit]. Among the accepted blood units for donation, prevalence of anti-HBc was 78/712 units (10.96%). HBV-DNA was detected in 9/78 (11.54%) of the anti-HBc-positive units, and thus, occult HBV infection was detected in 9/712 (1.26%) of the accepted blood donations. Implementing anti-HBc test to the routine assay for the forthcoming two decades would certainly eliminate possible HBV-infected units. Rejection of these units will be beneficial to decrease the risk of HBV transmission with its potential consequences particularly in immunocompromised recipients.

Occult hepatitis B virus infection among Egyptian blood donors

“…This is comparable to the older antiHBc prevalence rates reported among HBsAg-negative blood donors in the Mediterranean region and Arab Peninsula; 15.03% in Greece [24] and 16.4% in Saudi Arabia [25] , respectively. A previous Egyptian study, however, reported a prevalence of 10.9% in volunteer HBsAgnegative blood donors, where, HBV-DNA was detected in 11.54% of the anti-HBc positive units [26] . A more recent study among Egyptian healthy male HBsAgnegative donors showed that 80/1026 (7.8%) were reactive to anti-HBc.…”

Seroprevalence of Hepatitis C Virus among Blood Donors in Middle Eastern Countries: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…After full-text screening, a total of 47 records were deemed as eligible papers published between 1995 and 2016. These 47 records were composed of 13 studies from Iran (4, 10-21), 8 studies from Turkey (22-29), 8 studies from Saudi Arabia (30-37), and 6 studies from Egypt (38)(39)(40)(41)(42)(43). Two studies were available from each of the following countries: Syria (44,45), Libya (46,47), Yemen (48,49), and Israel (50,51).…”

Low Prevalence of Occult Hepatitis B Infection Among Blood Donors in Beirut, Lebanon: Reconsider the Deferral Strategy of Anti-HBc Positive Blood Donors

“…Occult HBV infection (OBI) was defined by an international workshop held in 2008 as the "presence of HBV DNA in liver (with a viral load of < 200 IU/mL or undetectable HBV DNA in the serum) of individuals testing hepatitis B surface antigen negative by currently available assays" (6)(7)(8). The prevalence of OBI carriers was shown to be more prominent since the introduction of HBV DNA nucleic acid testing (NAT) in blood transfusion centers across all continents with yield varying from 0.1% to 4.16% (2)(3)(4)(5)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22).…”