Prevalence of Syphilis Among Blood Donors in Central Hospital, Auchi
Chapter One
Objectives
General Objectives
The general objective of the study is to determine the prevalence of Syphilis infection among blood donors in Central Hospital Auchi.
Specific Objectives
- To determine the prevalence of syphilis among blood donors in Central Hospital Auchi.
- To determine behavioral and socio-demographic factors associated with syphilis infections among blood donors in Central Hospital Auchi.
- To determine co-infections of HIV, HBV, HCV, and syphilis infections among blood donors in Central Hospital Auchi.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
Syphilis is an infection which can be transmitted from person-to-person through parenteral administration of blood or blood products. It may also result from new or emerging infectious agents, which are not known to be transmitted, but for which there is biological plausibility of person-to-person transmission. Such an example is the agent responsible for new variant Creutzfeldt-Jacob Disease (CDC, 2004). A transfusion transmitted infection (TTI) is any infection identified in a recipient that is suspected to have been transmitted by blood or blood products at any time since 1980, or any infection (with potential for blood-borne transmission) identified in a blood donor who was infectious at the time they donated blood at any time (Hladik et al., 2006). Any infections with the potential of being carried from person to person as a result of blood transfusion are TTIs (Walana, et al., 2014).
Other infections that have been detected include cytomegalovirus and Epstein Barr virus. Preventing transmission of these infectious diseases through blood transfusion presents one of the greatest challenges of transfusion medicine (Chandra Sharma et al., 2014).
Syphilis infection among blood donors is of public health concern (Walana, et al., 2014). There is a general focus on safety and protection of human life in blood transfusion practices over the world. These infections are of great public health concern because of their prolonged viraemia and carrier of latent state (Tessema et al., 2010).
Syphilis infection is common globally, especially among people with a history of blood transfusion (Chandra Sharma et al., 2014). Transfusion transmissible infections include malaria, HIV, HBV, HCV, syphilis (VDRL), Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD human T-cell lymphotropic viruses (HTLV-I/II), Cytomegalovirus (CMV), Parvovirus B19, West Nile Virus (WNV), Dengue virus, trypanosomiasis. The prevalence of these infections is high ranging from 3.7% for HBV to 23.2% for HCV (Adjei et al., 2006). In Nigeria, HIV, HBV, HCV and syphilis accounts for more than two thirds of all infections particularly among blood donors.
The importance of blood transfusion in modern therapy and health care delivery cannot be overstated. These infections could defeat the whole purpose of blood transfusion in the health care system as they spread through tainted blood collected from an infected blood donor. Laboratory testing of blood to eliminate infections is very crucial to ensure that these infections are not transmitted to ensure safe healthcare delivery through blood transfusions. The screening for syphilis among blood donors can be a cost-effective approach to monitor the prevalence, distribution, and trends of these infections within human populations.
CHAPTER THREE
METHODOLOGY
Research design
The research will employ a cross sectional study among blood donors who donated blood at Central Hospital Auchi.
Study population
The study will involve both healthy males and females between the ages of seventeen (17) to fifty- four (54) who visits Central Hospital Auchi blood bank to donate blood voluntarily, for a relative (family replacement) or a commercial donor.
Sampling
Sample size
The sample size (N) for this study was calculated using the formula
REFERENCES
- Chandra Sharma, D., Rai, S., Bharat, S., Iyenger, S., Gupta, S., & Jain, B. (2014a). A 10 Years Comparative Study to Assess Trends in Seroprevalence of Transfusion Transmitted Infections among Blood Donors at Gwalior, India. Open Journal of Blood Diseases, 04(02), 24–32. http://doi.org/10.4236/ojbd.2014.42004
- Chandra Sharma, D., Rai, S., Bharat, S., Iyenger, S., Gupta, S., & Jain, B. (2014b). A 10 Years Comparative Study to Assess Trends in Seroprevalence of Transfusion Transmitted Infections among Blood Donors at Gwalior, India. Open Journal of Blood Diseases, 04(02), 24–32. http://doi.org/10.4236/ojbd.2014.42004
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- Sarkodie, F., Ullum, H., Owusu-Dabo, E., Owusu-Ofori, S., Owusu-Ofori, A., & Hassall, O. (2016). A novel strategy for screening blood donors for syphilis at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Ghana. Transfusion Medicine, 26(1), 63–66. http://doi.org/10.1111/tme.12279