Performance of the serologic and molecular screening of blood donations for the hepatitis B and C viruses in a Mexican Transfusion Center.

Nucleic acid-amplification testing (NAT) is not routinely practiced in blood banks from most low-income countries. We did an exploratory comparison of the performance of the standard immunoassay-based screening tests for the hepatitis B (HBV) and C (HCV) viruses with that of NAT, in blood donors. From January 1999 to March 2005, 94,806 blood donors were screened for anti-HCV antibodies and for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). Also, an exploratory period of molecular screening was carried out on 100 consecutive blood donors to detect HBV DNA and HCV RNA by home-made PCR techniques without sera pooling. In the 75-month period of serologic screening, HBsAg was detected in 219 donors (0.23%; 95% CI, 0.20- 0.26%) and anti-HCV antibodies in 922 (0.97%; 95% CI, 0.90-1.03%). The annual trend for HBsAg prevalence had a decreasing pattern over the years (p