Registry for Infected Healthy Indian Blood Donors (RIHIBlooD) study in Gujarat using The Network Triple Surveillance Model.
Int Conf AIDS 2002 Jul 7-12; 14:(abstract no. G12532)
Shah V, Galwankar S, Persad AS, Sharma A, Naik E, Sinnott J Indu Blood Bank, Indu Health Research Foundation, Gujarat, India
Lessons Based on a government sentinel surveillance system, 3.8 million people are estimated to be HIV positive in India. Sentinel sites do not include blood banks on a uniform basis. Gujarat, a state that has no sentinel blood bank sites, has an annual incidence of 4.65 per 1,000 as reported by this system. Results from this project shows that this is an underestimation. Blood banks provide a good resource in detecting otherwise unknown cases of HIV as well as hepatitis B and C. Descriptions The Registry for Infected Healthy Indian Blood Donors (RIHIBlooD) Study is an valiant endeavor to monitor healthy populations infected with HIV, and other blood borne pathogens. The successes of the pilot study involving blood bank sites at Vadodara and Anand in Gujarat are highlighted. This project enhances infectious disease research by the application of "Network Triple Surveillance Model". The project plans to network, by the means of computers and common databases, a group of blood banks across the state continuing triple surveillance and acting as a research, policy guiding and health planning cum intervention resource against these viral infections.
ISSUES: A staggering total of 338 new cases of one or more of the blood borne pathogen infections have been diagnosed. The incidence rates per 1000 are 2.78, 7.78,and 0.66 for HIV, HBV, and HVC respectively. Further analysis estimates 63,000 persons to be infected with HIV, 180,000 with HBV, and about 13,000 with HCV within the state. It can be deduced that the burden of HIV may be underestimated by the exclusion of blood bank sites.
RECOMMENDATIONS: The RIHIBlooD approach complements the existing surveillance system. This provides an excellent opportunity to study the burden of these illnesses in this population and could be used for further research on these blood borne pathogens. This study strongly recommends the induction of blood banks as sentinel surveillance sites in Gujarat.
Keywords: AEGIS, Blood Donors, Hepatitis B, Blood-Borne Pathogens, HIV, Incidence, Blood Banks, Registries, HIV Infections, Hepatitis B Virus, Hepacivirus, Virus Diseases, Sentinel Surveillance, HIV Seroprevalence, HIV Seropositivity, Risk Management, Hepatitis B Antibodies, India, Animal, epidemiology, utilization, economics, immunology
