Hepatitis B blood safety policy in endemic areas of Gabon a resource-limitted settings

Abstract Background : Transfusion-transmissible infections (TTIs) pose a significant challenge for the availability and safety of blood transfusion. Therefore, more efforts are required to ensure the safety of blood supply and transfusions. HBV has a worldwide distribution and it is endemic in some regions of Estuaire Gabon. The risk of transmission through asymptomatic blood donors, particularly in endemic areas should be considered and appropriately managed. Objective : The main objective of this study was determining the seroprevalence rates of HBV infections rates among voluntary donors from different areas in Estuaire Gabonand we performed a systematic review to identify proportion and predictors of transmissible infections among Gabonese blood donors and community setting in Gabon. Methods : This cross sectional study was conducted at the Gabonese Blood Transfusion Centre, from June to August 2020. After taking informed consent, a total of 1610 replacements and voluntaryblood donors were screened for HBsAg, using Enzyme-Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay (ELISA) and Chemiluminescence-based assay. We conducted a systematic literature review of proportion of TTIs among blood donors and communityin high burden settings. Results : The prevalence of HBV infection among first-time donors was 55 per 1,000, and the highest for HBV infectionwere in donations from replacement volunteers. A significant difference was observed between first-time volunteers and the replacement volunteers (p <0.0001). Most of the HBsAg seropositive blood donors, 194, 186, per 1,000, were from northern and northern-western regions, respectively. In addition, we identified 7 risk factors including modes of blood donations, residence in endemic area, male gender, Hematological parameters history, age, occupation and blood donation refusal. Conclusion: The Seroprevalence of HBVamong Gabonese blood donors in the regions of our study still is considerable. Deferral based on a history of HBVexposure in an endemic area might prevent transfusion risk from an emerging disease in the HBVendemic area.