ABSTRACT
Background: Critical part of transfusion is effective screening of TTI, to reduce the risk of transmission is as safe as possible. The present study has undertaken to focus on seroprevalence of TTIs among both voluntary and replacement donors and also to project epidemiological data of TTIs in this community.Methods: This is a retrospective study conducted from January 2014 to December 2018. All blood samples collected from donors were screened for HIV, HBV, HCV, Syphilis and malaria according to blood bank policy. Before drawing blood, donors were asked to fill pre structured Blood bank questionnaire and consent form.Results: In this present 5-year study, total number of blood donor population was 54937, among them voluntary donors were 33891 and replacement donors were 21046. Out of 33891 voluntary donors, 33486(98.8%) were males and remaining 405(1.19%) were females. All replacement donors (21046) were males. The seroprevalence of HBV was highest, 1.82% (1003/54937) followed by HCV 0.31% (175/54937) in all the donors. The seropositivity for HIV is 0.23% (129/54937), for syphilis 0.04% (24/54937) and for malaria 0.01% (6/54937).Conclusions: National blood transfusion policy should be strengthening the standards and quality of screening across the country. For blood screening, resources and appropriate screening assays must be available at all health centres.
ABSTRACT
Background and objective: While Chlamydia pneumoniae infection and hyperhomocysteinemia have been shown to contribute independently to the atherosclerotic risk, recent evidence has linked the association of C. pneumoniae positivity and hyperhomocysteinemia in patients with established atherosclerosis. The aim of this study was to investigate whether such a relationship can be replicated in India, where both infections and hyperhomocysteinemia are prevalent. Methods: Patients of acute ischemic stroke enrolled consecutively and prospectively in the Nizam’s Institute Stroke Registry, Hyderabad, India (NISHI) were subjected to thorough clinical and neuroimaging evaluation. Blood was drawn in fasting state for estimation of homocysteine level and the titers of C. pneumoniae antibodies (IgG and IgA) by microimmunofluorescence method. Results: Of the 200 stroke patients, 72 (36%) were tested positive for C. pneumoniae antibodies, and 128 (64%) tested negative. The percentage of subjects with hyperhomocysteinemia, smoking, hypercholesterolemia and C-reactive protein positivity was higher in C. pneumoniae positive group compared with C. pneumoniae negative group. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that hyperhomocysteinemia was an independent variable in the C. pneumoniae positive group (Odds ratio 4.71 95% CI 2.2-9.8). Conclusion: This study has shown that C. pneumoniae seropositivity is linked with hyperhomocysteinemia in patients with ischemic stroke in a sample of South Indian population.