Prevalence of Transfusion-Transmissible Infections and Associated Risk Factors among Blood Donors in Bamenda, Cameroon

Introduction: Blood transfusion is considered a life-saving procedure but the presence of transfusion transmitted infections (TTIs) is a major public health concern. TTIs such as hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and Treponema pallidum (syphilis) are among the greatest threats to blood safety. In Cameroon, most of the patients remain undiagnosed as they are asymptomatic. This study aimed at determining the prevalence of TTIs and its associated risk factors in blood donors from the Northwest region of Cameroon. Methodology: A retrospective study of blood donors' records from a rural and urban towns between 2015 to 2017 was reviewed. The data were analyzed using SPSS vs 23.0 and a p-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: A total of 4020 (91.5%) blood donors were included in the study. The mean age was 27.8years and the proportion of male was 78.3% (3143). The prevalence of TTIs was 7.3% (292) and showed a significant (P=0.001) decreasing trend from 10.2% to 5.7 %. The prevalence of HBV, HCV, HIV and syphilis were 0.7% (27), 1.8% (73) and 1.9% (77) respectively. Except for HCV, all TTIs showed a decreasing trend. From the results, the positive rate of anyone of the TTIs was significantly (p< 0.05) higher among male 8.1% (255), replacement donors 9.1% (240) and those who had attained only basic education 8.5% (91). Co-infection was detected among 0.5% (19) blood donors and the highest prevalence was between HIV and Syphilis 0.15% (6). Independent predictors of anyone of the TTIs were; living in rural towns, males, age group >20 years replacement donors, civil servants, and those who had attained either basic or secondary education. Conclusion: Our data provides important findings that contribute to a better understanding of TTIs epidemiology in Bamenda. Further investigations are needed to assess the prevalence and determinants of these infections in other communities to support the development of effective prevention and control strategies. There is a need for stringent selection of blood donors. High sensitive and specific screening tests such as Nucleic acid testing enzyme immunoassays should be used to diagnose the high-risk donors.