Seroprevalence of Syphilis among Blood Donors in Pakistan: A Study of Healthy Volunteers in Rawalpindi District

Abstract Background: Blood transfusion, a prevalent practice in Pakistan with 3.5 million donors annually, carries a 1% risk of transfusion-transmitted infections, contributing to the transmission of infectious diseases. Syphilis, specifically, demonstrates an increasing seroprevalence. Objective: T...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inPakistan journal of medical research Vol. 63; no. 2; p. 59
Main Authors Ameer, Fahad Ishaq, Arslan Irshad Satti, Adeel, Muhammad, Ullah, Obaid, Javed Muhammad, Rehman, Yasir
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Islamabad Knowledge Bylanes 30.06.2024
AsiaNet Pakistan (Pvt) Ltd
Health Research Institute (HRI), National Institute of Health (NIH)
Subjects
Age groups
Anticoagulants
Blood & organ donations
Blood donors
Blood transfusions
Education
Females
Gender
Health aspects
Hemoglobin
Infections
Males
Marital status
Medical research
Medicine, Experimental
Physiological aspects
Population
prevalence
Rawalpindi
Response rates
Risk factors
Rural areas
Serology
Sociodemographics
Statistics
Syphilis
Treponema pallidum
Urban areas
Pakistan
Lahore Pakistan
Rawalpindi Pakistan
Karachi Pakistan
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Summary:Abstract Background: Blood transfusion, a prevalent practice in Pakistan with 3.5 million donors annually, carries a 1% risk of transfusion-transmitted infections, contributing to the transmission of infectious diseases. Syphilis, specifically, demonstrates an increasing seroprevalence. Objective: To assess the seroprevalence of syphilis among healthy volunteer blood donors in Rawalpindi. Study type, settings and duration: This prospective cross-sectional study was conducted at Railway General Hospital, Rawalpindi from July to December 2023. Methodology: After acquiring informed consent, blood samples were collected for screening using the immunochromatographic assay (ICT) to detect specific Treponema pallidum antibodies in human serum. The Healgen Syphilis detection Kits (GCSYP-402) were employed for this purpose, offering a rapid qualitative screening for syphilis. Results: A total of 1710 blood samples were screened using the immunochromatographic assay for detecting of Treponema pallidum antibodies. The syphilis seropositivity among donors revealed 16 (0.93%) reactive samples and 1,694 (99.07%) non-reactive samples. Males comprised 1,531 (89.54%) of the participants, with 179 (10.46%) being females. Among donors, 1,209 (70.71%) were single, and 587 (34.33%) had up to matric education. The majority of donors, 1,320 (77.20%), resided in urban areas. Statistical analysis showed no significant associations between syphilis seropositivity and age (p >0.902), gender (p >0.579), educational level (p >0.725), or residence (p >0.697). These findings provide valuable insights into the prevalence and demographic factors of syphilis among blood donors in the study. Conclusion: Enhanced donor evaluation and screening for blood donation can boost recipient safety and curb syphilis transmission.
ISSN:0030-9842