Prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen and hepatitis C virus antibodies among blood donors in Alexandria, Egypt

Hepatitis B and C virus infections are common serious complications of blood transfusion. Over a 6-month period in 2007/08 all samples from a blood bank in Alexandria, Egypt [n=3420] were tested for hepatitis B surface antigen [HBsAg] and anti-hepatitis C virus [HCV] antibodies. A total of 119 donors [3.5%] were positive for anti-HCV and 47 [1.4%] for HBsAg. The mean age of HCV - positive donors was significantly higher than HBV-positive donors: 35.7 [SD 83] versus 29.9 [SD 7.4] years, HCV and HBV prevalence was highest among males [93.3% and 93.6% respectively], in urban areas [66.4% and 80.9%] and among manual workers [64.7% and 46.8%]. The rates were lower than previous studies in Egypt, perhaps due to predonation screening which excludes those known to be at high risk of contracting bloodborne infections or who had other contraindications to blood donation

Detection of endotoxins and bacterial agents in collected blood bags and their recipients

Bacterial contamination of blood and its cellular components remains an unresolved problem in transfusion medicine, and is considered to be the most common microbiological cause of transfusion associated morbidity and mortality. This is because contaminated units may contain large numbers of virulent bacteria as well as, endotoxins that are considered to be fatal to the recipients. Endotoxins are high-molecular weight complexes of lipopolysaccharides that constitute the major cell wall component in all Gram-negative bacterial families. These molecules have been intensively investigated because of the increasing appreciation of their potentially pathogenic role in a wide variety of human disease states. The present study aimed to detect endotoxins and bacterial agents in collected blood bags and their transmission to the recipients of these blood bags. The study involved 100 randomly selected blood bags and their recipients. They were all examined by Limulus Amebocyte Lysate [LAL] assay using gel clot method for detection of endotoxins and by blood culture for the detection of bacterial agents. Endotoxins were detected in five blood bags [5%] using LAL assay [gel clot method], while bacterial contamination was found in only one blood bag. The bag that gave positive blood culture yielded Staphylococcus aureus, which was mostly a skin associated organism and was considered as a contaminant related to the procedure during donor venipuncture. None of the 100 studied recipients of these blood bags revealed positive blood culture. It was concluded from this study that LAL assay is a rapid, easy to perform, and a highly sensitive test that can detect as little as 0.03 endotoxin units per ml using the gel-clot method. In addition not all endotoxins or bacterial agents could be transmitted to the recipients of blood bags, this depends on their volume and whether the recipient is on antibiotic therapy or not

Cyclic guanosine 3 ',5 ' - monophospha-te [cGMP] in patients with different types of acute leukemia before and after chemotherapy

Plasma cyclic guanosine 3', 5'- monophosphate [cGMP] and urinary excretion of the nucleotide were measured in patients with acute leukemia. Ten patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia [ALL], ten with acute myetoblastic leukemia [AML] as well as ten healthy controls were enrolled in the study. Samples were measured at presentation and after completion of inducttion chemotherapy. Statistically significant elevated levels of cGMP were found in leukemic patients compared to the controls. Highly significant difference was demonstrated in comparing pre-treatment to post-treatment levels of the nucleotide. A positive correlation was found between the level of plasma cGMP and the blast count in the bone marrow. There was no statistically significant difference between the levels of cGMP in different types of leukemia [ALL versus AML]. In patients who failed to attain complete remission, the level of cGMP remained high and it rised in those who relapsed even before blast invasion. It is concluded that cGMP is a good tumour marker in acute leukemia and it is useful in monitoring response to treatment or relapse