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Research Article
Anti-HBc antibodies and occult hepatitis B infection (OBI) among blood donors in Lomé, Togo
1 National Blood Transfusion Center (CNTS), Lomé, Togo
2 Department of Basic Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Lomé, Togo
3 Higher School of Biological and Food Techniques (ESTBA-UL), Lomé, Togo
4 Department of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Lomé, Togo
Address correspondence to:
Liza Koboyo Nadjir
Lomé,
Togo
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Article ID: 100083Z02LN2024
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Nadjir LK, Katawa G, Kolou M, Tougouma EM, Badassan M, Mazou B, Ameyissa AA, Feteke L, Salou M, Ekouevi KD. Anti-HBc antibodies and occult hepatitis B infection (OBI) among blood donors in Lomé, Togo. Int J Blood Transfus Immunohematol 2024;14(1):11–16.ABSTRACT
Aims: Among the progressive forms of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections, the HBs antigen (HBsAg) remains undetectable in 25% of cases. There is also a form of HBV infection called occult HBV infection (OBI) characterized by the presence of viral DNA in the blood and tissues with no detectable levels of HBsAg associated with or without anti-HBc Ab, or anti-HBs Ab out of the pre-seroconversion period, which constitutes an infectious risk in blood transfusion.
Methods: To determine the prevalence of anti-HBc Abs and the HBV DNA in the blood of donors recruited at the blood transfusion center (CNTS) of Lomé. This is a cross-sectional study including 967 blood donations which were seronegative to HBs antigen during the biological qualification of the donation (BQD) from July 28 to August 19, 2022. The detection of total anti-HBc Abs (IgM and IgG) was performed by BIORAD enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method; the viral load measurement was carried out according to the polymerase chain reaction method by amplification of COBAS AmpliPrep/TaqMan 4800 (Roche diagnostics). Data processing and analysis were performed using EXCEL 2013 software and SPSS software. Concerning the ethical aspect, we have obtained written consent from the donors and the agreement of the bioethics committee for health research No. 052/2022/CBRS.
Results: The prevalence of anti-HBc Abs was 33.82% (CI: 30.83–36.80). Viral DNA was detected in 10 cases. The prevalence of occult hepatitis B was 3.05% (10/327) in blood donors carrying anti-HBc antibodies, and 1.03% (10/967) in the blood donors population that does not carry HBsAg.
Conclusion: The presence of occult hepatitis B within the population of blood donors at the blood transfusion center of Lomé constitutes a real threat to transfusion safety. The association of the viral DNA detection by PCR to the serological tests that are currently carried out during the biological qualification of the donations could be a better approach to reduce the risk of transmission of HBV by blood transfusion at the CNTS of Lomé.
Keywords: Blood donors, Lomé, OBI
SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Acknowledgments
RAFTS: Réseau d’Afrique francophone de transfusion sanguine (French-speaking African blood transfusion network).
CARESP: Centre Africain de Recherche en Epidémiologie et en Santé Publique (African Center for Research in Epidemiology and Public Health).
OMS/WHO: Organisation Mondiale de la Santé/World Health Organistion
Liza Koboyo Nadjir - Substantial contributions to conception and design, Acquisition of data, Analysis of data, Interpretation of data, Drafting the article, Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published
Gnatoulma Katawa - Substantial contributions to conception and design, Acquisition of data, Analysis of data, Interpretation of data, Drafting the article, Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published
Maléwé Kolou - Substantial contributions to conception and design, Drafting the article, Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published
Esso-Mondjonna Tougouma - Acquisition of data, Drafting the article, Final approval of the version to be published
Magnim Badassan - Acquisition of data, Drafting the article, Final approval of the version to be published
Bassimtou Mazou - Acquisition of data, Analysis of data, Interpretation of data, Drafting the article, Final approval of the version to be published
Amégnikpa Ablam Ameyissa - Acquisition of data, Drafting the article, Final approval of the version to be published
Lochina Feteke - Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published
Mounérou Salou - Substantial contributions to conception and design, Drafting the article, Final approval of the version to be published
Koumavi Didier Ekouevi - Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published
Guarantor of SubmissionThe corresponding author is the guarantor of submission.
Source of SupportNone
Consent StatementWritten informed consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this article.
Data AvailabilityAll relevant data are within the paper and its Supporting Information files.
Conflict of InterestAuthors declare no conflict of interest.
Copyright© 2024 Liza Koboyo Nadjir et al. This article is distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium provided the original author(s) and original publisher are properly credited. Please see the copyright policy on the journal website for more information.
