Seroprevalence of Hepatitis C Virus amongst Blood Donors in Parts of North Central Nigeria

Background: Hepatitis C virus is one of the blood borne transmissible infections of public health significance. It can easily be transmitted to a wider population through transfusion of contaminated blood or blood products.

Aim: To determine the seroprevalence of HCV antibodies amongst potential blood donors in the study area.

Materials and Methods: Seven hundred and ten (710) samples were collected from consented blood donors in the study area and were examined for anti-HCV antibody using a third generation enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) Test kit (Autobio Diagnostics, China) based on the manufacturer’s instructions. Structured questionnaires were administered to the participants and results were analyzed using SPSS version, 23.0 statistical software package.

Results: Of the 710 samples of voluntary blood donors examined, 7.0% were positive for anti-HCV antibody. Male participants had a higher prevalence of 7.1% than females who had 6.7% (p= .88). The age group 41-50 years had the highest seroprevalence of 10.9%, followed by age groups 10- 20, 21-30 and 31-40 with a prevalence of 8.8%, 7.7%, 4.7% respectively ,while the age groups above 50 showed no evidence of HCV antibodies(p= .46).

Conclusion: The seroprevalence of HCV infections is evident amongst potential blood donors and this call for health care providers and policy makers to ensure that there is proper screening for HCV in all health facilities in the area before any blood transfusion in order to minimize the spread of the infection in the area and Nigeria at large.