Seroprevalence of hepatitis B infection among blood donors in Western zone of Tanzania

Background

There is limited information on burden of hepatitis B infection in the Western zone of Tanzania. In this study, we analyzed a dataset from blood donors to determine Hepatitis B virus (HBV) seroprevalence and related socio-demographic factors among blood donors in the Western regions of Tanzania.

Material and methods

This was a cross-sectional retrospective hospital-based study, in which data were retrieved from the blood donor dataset at the Zonal Blood Transfusion Center. The analyzed information from the dataset included reported Transfusion Transmissible Infections (TTIs), which included Hepatitis B, donor demographics, donor status, donor type, donation place, and the year of donation. The analyzed data was retrieved within five years from January 2018 to December 2022. Rates of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) were determined and univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to determine the association between infection and demographic risk factors.

Results

A total of 9604 retrospective blood donors were screened. Majority 8963 (93.3 %) were men, and most of them were under 45 years (89.6 %). Overall, HBsAg seroprevalence was 6.9 % (661), with Katavi (7.8 %) being relatively higher in the studied three regions. The highest HBsAg seroprevalence of 8.2 % (199) was found in the age group ranging from 35 to 44 years. Moreover, 2 (9.5 %) polygamists and 15 (17.1 %) car drivers had relatively high seroprevalence. Results from the multivariate analysis indicated that, car drivers (OR 5.44, 95 % CI; 2.43–12.20, p < 0.001), and first-time donors (OR 5.19, 95 % CI 2.56 = 10.52, P < 0.001), were highly associated with increased chance of getting hepatitis B infection.

Conclusion

The findings from this study indicated that, there was high seroprevalence of HBV infection in the Western regions of Tanzania during the studied time period. These findings call for more advocacy on HBV immunization for all groups of persons found at high risk for HBV infection.