Prevalence of hepatits B and C among blood donors in Dhahira region, Oman

To determine the prevalence of Hepatitis B surface antigen and anti-hepatitis C virus [HCV] antibodies among blood donors and to compare the prevalence between Omani and non Omani population The study was conducted from January 2001 to December 2002. This is a hospital based study conducted in two major hospitals [Regional hospital and Wilayat hospital] having a blood bank facility in the Dhahira region, Oman. All those who donated blood during the study period were included in this study. The HBsAg was performed using IMX system [Abbott, Microparticle Enzyme Immunoassay [MEIA] technology]. The blood was screened for hepatitis C by the same system using recombinant HCV antigen. A total of 4,472 blood donors were tested during the study period, out of whom 68.4% were voluntary donors and 31.6% were family replacement donors. Approximately 85% of the donors were local Omanis and 15% were nonOmanis. The prevalence rate of HBsAg and HCV Positive was found to be 4.29 and 0.96% respectively. The Male:Female ratio was found to be 9.3:1.0. The prevalence of hepatitis B among males was higher compared to females but the difference was not statistically significant [p=0.68]. However, there was a significantly higher prevalence of hepatitis B among Omanis compared to non-Omanis [p=0.0004]. No significant difference was observed despite the higher number of hepatitis C positives in males than in females [p=0.16] and non-Omanis compared to Omanis [p=0.22]. The prevalence of hepatitis B and C among Omani population of Dhahira region was moderate and low, respectively. The prevalence of hepatitis B was higher among Omanis and conversely hepatitis C prevalence was higher among non-Omanis