ABSTRACT
Prevention of transfusion associated AIDS (TAA) in Thailand began in 1986 when the HIV infection started to be sharply increased among the general population. The retrospective anti-HIV screening in various blood donor populations by The National Blood Center (NBC) revealed a seroconverted prisoner. Then the use of prisoners, prisoners' blood was not recommended from 1986. In April 1987, the first case of TAA was disclosed. Five months later, anti-HIV screening in all units of blood was firstly introduced at Ramathibodi Hospital (RH) and NBC. From 1989, anti-HIV screening in all units of blood is mandatory nationwide by Ministry of Public Health. Despite the anti-HIV screening, TAA cases transmitted by seronegative blood were gradually reported. Among many Medical Centers, there were 9 and 18 cases of TAA recorded from Chiang Mai and Bangkok areas respectively, since 1985. In addition, several new seroconverters were observed among voluntary blood donors. All of this evidence indicates the existence of blood donation during the early stage of infection, the so-called "window period". At present, HIV-P24 antigen ELISA seems to be the only available technique for mass screening. In 1990, NBC successfully performed a retrospective study on HIV-Ag ELISA screening by obtaining the prevalence of 1/10,000 units of blood. At the same period of time, in RH prospective study, a unit of blood with HIV-Ag only was detected when 3432 units of blood were screened. The HIV-Ag ELISA screening was then performed on every unit of blood routinely since Aug 12, 1991 at RH.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Subject(s)
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/epidemiology , Blood Transfusion/adverse effects , HIV Seronegativity , Humans , Population Surveillance , Prevalence , Prospective Studies , Retrospective Studies , Risk Factors , Thailand/epidemiologyABSTRACT
Anti-HIV 1 antibodies were detected in 4 groups of subjects (peoples attending hospitals or medical clinics for anti-HIV investigation, blood donors, women in massage parlours and thalassemia patients) in the north, northeast and central Thailand. A total number of 1,726 blood samples were initially tested with ELISA. The ELISA reactive samples were confirmed by the Western blot analysis. Using ELISA as a screening test, the highest incidence (9.09%) of anti-HIV 1 antibodies was found in thalassemic children (4 of 44). Six (0.72%) and 4 (1.02%) samples in the first, second and third groups had a repeatedly reactive ELISA respectively. The Western blot analysis confirmed that 7 cases (3 thalassemia and 4 subjects in the first group) had antibodies to HIV 1. Two cases with reactive Western blot test were Westerners while the rest were symptomatic and asymptomatic Thais. The HIV infection has spread to thalassemia patients probably via blood transfusion.
Subject(s)
AIDS Serodiagnosis , Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/diagnosis , Female , HIV Seropositivity/epidemiology , Humans , Male , ThailandABSTRACT
The iron status of voluntary and professional male donor groups was investigated. The study indicated that serum ferritin level was lower significantly in those who donated three times per year compared to the first time donors (p less than 0.05) in voluntary donor group. Similar results were observed among the professional donors. Whereas haemoglobin, haematocrit and transferrin saturation were not altered by donating blood in both groups. It also showed that, in general, the body iron stores of professional donors were lower to those of voluntary donors. Supplementation with iron over a period of three months produced a rise in serum ferritin levels and the percentage prevalence of iron depleted subjects decreased from 23.6% to 6.4%. Haemoglobin, haematocrit and transferrin saturation levels also improved.