Prevalence Of Anti Bodies To Human LYMPHOTROPIC Virus ; TYPE I Among Blood Donors At The 37th Military Hospital, Accra, Ghana

Several infectious diseases have been found to be associated with transfusion o f whole blood or

blood components. Reports from studies conducted in many African countries indicate a high

incidence of blood-borne pathogens such as human T-lymphotropic virus type-I (HTLV-I) among

healthy blood donors. Experimental data indicate that a r. ajor route for transmission o f the HTLV-I

is through blood transfusion. The prevalence o f HTLV-I antibodies among blood donors in Ghana

is not well documented. Population surveys cannot be conducted for financial reasons and therefore

sentinel studies are the only means for providing information on the transmissions of infections

such as HTLV-I, as well as monitoring the changes over time. The study was therefore undertaken

to determine the prevalence o f HTLV-I antibodies among blood donors, between the months of

January to April 2004 at the 37th Military Hospital Blood Transfusion Service, Accra, Ghana. A

combination o f particle agglutination test and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was

used to assess the prevalence and distribution of antibodies to HTLV-I. A structured questionnaire

was also administered to the blood donors after an informed oral and written consent was taken.

This involved questions on personal information, knowledge about HTLV-I transfusion, sexual

behaviour, lifestyle and histories o f transfusion-transmitted diseases.

Beginning from January to April 2004, blood samples were collected from blood donors, serum

separated and analysed for the presence of antibodies to HTLV-I. A total o f 1225 samples (1158

males and 67 females) were analysed. Their ages ranged from 20-69 years; with majority

(75.5%; 925/1225) of the blood donors studied between the 30-^9 years age group. O fth e 1225

samples tested, 1196 were negative and 29 were positive lor HTLV-I antibodies giving a prevalence

rate of 2.4%. Two females were positive out o f 67 (2.9%) and 27 males were positive out o f 1158

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(2.3%) male donors. Majority of the donors were married (914; 74.6%) and the rest (311; 25.4%)

were not married. O f the married donors, 21 were positive for HTLV-I antibodies, giving a

prevalence rate o f 2.3% among married donor. Most of

with one wife (19; 65.5% ), and one positive case had two wives (3.4%). Seroprevalence

increased with marital status, suggesting marital status as the primary mode of transmission

rather than number o f wives. There was no association of tattoo marks with HTLV-I infection

(X2 = 1.72; or =2.07; 95% Cl =0.16- 1.46). Knowledge about HTLV-I infection among blood

donors was found to be very poor. Only 10 (0.82%) said they had heard o f HTLV-I infection whilst

1215 (99.18%) had never heard about it. The results reported herein, suggest that HTLV-I is

prevalent among healthy blood donors at the 37th Military Hospital Blood Transfusion Centre

(MHBTC); and that there is the need for screening blood honors for circulating antibodies to

HTLV-I infection. However, the economic burden/ benefit must also be looked at before including

HTLV-I in the screening protocol.