THE HEPATITIS B AND HEPATITIS C VIRUSES SEROPREVALENCE AMONG BLOOD DONORS IN AL-DAMAZIN STATE, SUDAN: A THREE-YEAR RETROSPECTIVE STUDY.

Background: The main blood-borne viruses that cause post-transfusion hepatitis are Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and Hepatitis C virus (HCV). These viruses can cause chronic infections, cirrhosis, and potentially hepatocellular cancer.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to look into the sero-prevalence and trend of HBV and HCV among blood donors in Al-Damazin Sudan.

Methods: The study utilized the records of donations in the Central Blood Bank Laboratory Al-Damazin from January 2022 to December 2024, and the relevant parameters were analyzed using the SPSS version 20-computer program.

Results: Out of 27916 blood donors, 1196 (4.3%) had positive HBV infection, and 160 (0.6%) were positive for HCV infection indicating a high prevalence of Hepatitis B virus. The prevalence of HBV and HCV showed a decreasing trend during the three years of the current investigation. There was a small decrease in the overall seroprevalence of HBV, from 6.04% in 2022 to 5.43% in 2023, and it decreased to 3.46% in 2024. The sero-detection of HBV decreased from 6.04% in 2022 to 5.43% in 2023 and decreased to 3.46% in 2024, while the sero-detection of HCV also decreased from 0.74% in 2022 to 0.62%, and then the HCV infection was further declined to 0.5% in 2024.

Conclusion: Our study found that the incidence of the hepatitis B virus was greater among the study subjects, and there was a low prevalence of HCV. We recommend carefully selecting blood donors and implementing HBV and HCV nucleic acid testing as part of the blood donor screening procedure.