AEGiS-14IAC: The use of blood donor data for HIV surveillance purposes. A global perspective.

14th International AIDS Conference

Barcelona, Spain - July 7-12, 2002

The use of blood donor data for HIV surveillance purposes. A global perspective.

Int Conf AIDS 2002 Jul 7-12; 14:(abstract no. WeOrC1268)

Sedyaningsih-Marnahil E, Lazzari S, Schinaia N, Dhingran N, Vercauteren G, Noel L, Emmanuel J, Lloyd S
CDS/WHO, Geneve, Switzerland

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to update most recent figures and trends of HIV prevalence among blood donors worldwide, and to assess its impact on general HIV surveillance activities.

METHODS: Source of data were the Global Blood Safety Initiative Database (primarily) and the US Bureau of Census HIV Surveillance Database, June 2000, country reports on blood transfusion, the UNAIDS/WHO estimation for adults living with HIV/AIDS as of the end of 1999. Our analysis was restricted to the last three years for which information was available (1997-1999).

RESULTS: We included in our study 50/55 countries in the world with generalised level of HIV/AIDS epidemics (36 African, 4 Asian and 10 Caribbean and Latin American countries). The highest prevalence rate was 18% and the lowest 0.01%. In 19 countries, HIV prevalence rates in blood donors were similar to the estimation of HIV prevalence in the adult population: in most of the remainders they were lower. When matching these results with the quality of the surveillance system in the countries, almost all countries where blood donor HIV prevalence was greater than its estimate in the adult population had poor HIV surveillance system. Replacement donors were the majority in almost all the countries where HIV prevalence was similar in blood donors and in the adult population, while there was a highly significant association between high proportion of repeat donors and lowest HIV prevalence rates.

CONCLUSIONS: Transfusion-transmitted (TT) HIV infection may still represent a sizeable problem in many resource-poor areas of the world. The major actions towards controlling is, through nationally-coordinated blood transfusion services, to expand the voluntary, non-remunerated blood donor population selected in low risk groups of the population, to test all donations for anti-HIV antibodies, and to reduce the unjustified use of blood.

Keywords: AEGIS, HIV, Blood Donors, HIV Infections, Prevalence, HIV Seropositivity, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, HIV Seroprevalence, Blood Transfusion, HIV Antibodies, Disease Outbreaks, Risk Management, Case-Control Studies, Caribbean Region, Adult, Epidemiology, utilization, immunology, economics

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WeOrC1268