Search

Background and study aim: Globally, Hepatitis-A Virus (HAV) is a major etiology of acute hepatitis. Though, enterically transmitted, there is evidence HAV being transmitted through of blood transfusion. The presence of HAV antibodies may indicate infectious threat to blood transfusion safety. In view of these, the present study was aimed to determine the seroprevalence and associated risk factors of HAV among blood donors in three tertiary Hospitals in Sokoto State, Nigeria. Materials and Methods: Blood samples were collected from one hundred and sixty eight (168) blood donors >20 years. Sera from these samples were investigated for anti-HAV specific IgG and IgM antibodies using a commercial enzyme immunosorbent assay (ELISA) Kits. Structured question-naires were used to access socio-demographic variables of subjects. Results: Seroprevalence of HAV- specific IgG and IgM were 86.3.1% and 0.0%, respectively. Of 168 blood donors, 145 had previous exposure to HAV [IgG (+) IgM (-), and none had recent infection [IgG (-) IgM (+)], 23 were susceptible to HAV [IgG (-) IgM (-). There was no significant association between sero-prevalence and any of the risk factors and sociodemographic variables studied (p>0.05). Findings from this study revealed that larger proportion of blood donors are already immune to HAV infection, while none of them had active HAV infection. Conclusion: The high prevalence of Hepatitis A antibodies among the studied subject reflects a high HAV transmission rate in this area. Hence, determination of HAV should be taken into consideration before blood transfusion.