Most Read
Abstract
Objective: The objective of this study is to determine the seroprevalance of hepatitis B, hepatitis C, HIV and syphilis among the blood donors of Near East University Blood Bank in Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).
Methods: All 1500 blood donors between July 2010 and December 2011 were included in the study. HBsAg, anti-HCV and anti-HIV were tested by enzyme-linked immunoassay (i2000®, Abbott, USA) and syphilis test was performed by Syphilis Ultra Rapid Test Device® (Acon, USA). Positive syphilis test results were confirmed by Treponema pallidum hemagglutination (TPHA) test. Anti-HIV positivity were confirmed by Western blot (WB).
Results: The median age of the 1500 blood donors included in the study were 28 years (range, 7-62). The donors comprised 1296 (86.4%) males and 204 (13.6%) females. In terms of the citizenship, 50.2% were citizens of Republic of Turkey (TR), 44.8% were citizens of TRNC and 4.9% were from other citizenships. Out of 1500 blood donors, five TR blood donors (0.33%), three TRNC donors (0.2%) and one donor from other citizenship (0.06%) were found HBsAg-positive (0.6%). No donors were anti-HCV-positive. Two TR (0.13%) and one TRNC donors (0.06%) were anti-HIV-positive confirmed by WB (0.2%), and two TRNC donors (0.13%) and one TR donor (0.06%) were seropositive for syphilis confirmed by TPHA (0.2%).
Conclusions: Many people visit to TRNC for touristic and educational purposes. It should be aimed to examine the epidemiologic data to organize broader framework of policies to decrease the incidence of sexually- and transfusion-transmitted infections.