Seroprevalence of Transmisive Diseases in Healthy Blood Donors: a Five-year Experience in University Clinical Center Tuzla.

Background: The safety of blood products is the most important task of transfusion medicine. Transfusion-transmitted diseases represent a serious public health problem throughout the world, although their percentage of transmission is minimal. Each blood donation is individually tested with serological and molecular tests for the presence of hepatitis B and C viruses, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and Treponema Pallidum, regardless of the number of blood donations.

Objective: To determine the seroprevalence of blood-borne diseases in healthy blood donors at the University Clinical Center Tuzla, to analyze the possible causes of transmission of these diseases, and to compare with the results of research in countries in the region and beyond.

Methods: The research was conducted retrospectively in the period January 1, 2018. until 31.12.2022. years. Samples of blood donors were tested for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), antibodies to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV1/2), antibodies to hepatitis C and syphilis, using the fourth generation ELISA method.

Results: The highest frequency of transmisive disease markers was reactivity to HBsAg with a total of 63.7% of cases and a prevalence of 0.13%, and the lowest for HIV with a total of 1.4% and a prevalence of 0.003%.

Conclusion: Bosnia and Herzegovina has a very low seroprevalence but there is still a risk of disease transmission in the population.