Sociodemographic and clinical features related to hepatitis B virus
infection among rejected blood donors in Luanda, Angola
Abstract
HBV remains a public health concern. Blood donors screened for HBsAg
along with AST/ALT could play a key in providing safe blood products. We
investigated the features related to HBV infection among rejected blood
donors in Luanda, Angola. This was a cross-sectional study conducted
with 164 rejected donors. Donors were screened for HBsAg from March to
May 2022. Overall, 63.4% tested positive for HBV. Mean age of the
HBV-positive (29.2±8.02) was lower than the HBV-negative (33.9±10.0)
(p<0.001). Donors between 20–40 years (OR:2.34, p=0.045),
females (OR:1.40, p=0.516), residents in urbanized areas (OR:1.23,
p=0.530), low educational (OR:1.54, p=0.458), unemployed (OR:1.65,
p=0.271), and unmarried (OR:1.41, p=0.616), might be likely to contract
HBV. AST/ALT ratio was higher in HBV-infected (2.07±1.42) than in
HBV-uninfected (1.90±1.14). About 20% of HBV-positive were classified
as having acute liver disease, while 80% with chronic liver disease,
based on AST/ALT ratio. Age ranged from 20-40 years (OR:1.97, p=0.305),
females (OR:1.61, p=0.557), donors from non-urbanized (OR:1.69,
p=0.557), a low educational (OR:1.64, p=0.571), and unemployed donors
(OR:1.81, p=0.289) were likely to develop chronic liver disease. Our
findings indicated the failure of viral hepatitis control measures.
Authorities should consider including HBV nucleic acid testing to ensure
early identification of HBV in Angola.