Prevalence and trends of hepatitis C virus among blood donors in Antananarivo, from 2003 to 2009

Purpose of the study: Due to anemia and maternal, childhood and infancy diseases, blood transfusion is one of the most important medical cares given in sub-Saharan Africa, including Madagascar. World Health Organization encourages worldwide countries to maximize transfusion security. Until now, there was no data within a large population of blood donors. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the prevalence and time trends of hepatitis C virus (HCV) among all first-time blood donors coming into the National Centre of Transfusion Supply in Antananarivo. Material and methods: This retrospective study was conducted at the National Centre of Transfusion Supply in Antananarivo from 2003 to May 2009. We looked up to all recorded results of systematic screening of blood donor candidates and we took data about all first-time blood donors, including age and gender. Forty-seven thousand five hundred and ten of 47,636 first-time blood donors were retained, the others were excluded due to lack of some data. Results: The mean age of our donors was 33.3. years (35.8 for male, and 32.6 for female; P<< 0.05). Eighty percent were male (38,225/47,510). HCV prevalence was 0.65% during the period of study and HCV positive donor candidates were older than HCV negative (mean age: 39.1 vs. 33.2; P<< 0.05). It was in fact stable from 2003 to 2007, and then decreased. HCV prevalence was higher in women than in men (0.9 vs. 0.6; P< 0.05), and it increased by age (P< 0.05). Conclusion: Our study found a low prevalence of HCV among blood donors compared to many countries in Africa. © 2012 Elsevier Masson SAS.