EVALUATION OF HEPATITIS B & C PREVALENCE AMONG HEALTHY BLOOD DONORS WITH HEPATITIS C CARRIER STATUS

Background: In our population, hepatitis B and C has been increasing. Due to these viral infections, thousands of people have subjected to death. Objectives: The objective of this research was to assess the status of Hepatitis B & C occurrence among healthy blood donors. Subject and Methods: The current research study was organized at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Lahore (October 2017 to August 2018). The people enrolled in this study were healthy and young blood donors. By employing its screening kits, these participants were screened for HBsAg and anti-HIV. Monthly reports of Blood Donors were collected from Blood transfusion units and data was assembled from these reports. Results: Total people selected for this study were 2,17,847. These people were healthy young donors. All participants were screened for HBV and HCV. Out of the total, the number of people who were noticed positive for HBsAg and anti-HCV was 5143 (2.4%) and 6407 (2.2%) respectively. 2,03,522 people were screened at the District level. The number of subjects out of the total that was found positive for HBsAg and anti-HCV was 4449 (2.2%) respectively. Total 14,325 subjects were screened at Tehsil Units. From these, the subjects positive for HBsAg were 624 (4.8%) and those who were positive for anti-HCV were 789 (5.5%). Conclusion: The study concluded that as compared to surrounding rural areas, the occurrence of HBV and HCV is low in urban areas. Moreover, among healthy blood donors, the incidence of HBV and HCV infection is high. Keywords: Hepatitis B Virus, Hepatitis C Virus, HBsAg, Anti-HCV, Blood Donors