Hepatitis B virus antibody in blood donors and the occurrence of non-A, non-B hepatitis in transfusion recipients. An analysis of the Transfusion-Transmitted Viruses Study.
Patients who received transfusions and nontransfused control patients were followed to assess the incidence and cause of post-transfusion hepatitis and to identify donor factors that might relate to risk of hepatitis. We evaluated as risk factors in donors the presence of antibody to hepatitis B virus compared with elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT) level. Units of blood that were positive for antibody to hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc) were associated with a twofold to threefold greater risk of non-A, non-B hepatitis in the recipients than were units without anti-HBc. In the absence of specific serologic tests for non-A, non-B agents, screening of donors for anti-HBc might be considered. Our data suggest that the incidence of non-A, non-B hepatitis might have been reduced by about one third by such screening. However, elevated ALT levels in donors had a similar association with non-A, non-B hepatitis in recipients but would have resulted in fewer units of blood being discarded than would screening for anti-HBc.
D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood; D001782:Blood Donors; D006510:Hepatitis B Antibodies / Q000032:analysis*; D006512:Hepatitis B Core Antigens / Q000276:immunology; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens / Q000276:immunology; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission*; D006525:Hepatitis, Viral, Human / Q000635:transmission*; D006801:Humans; D012306:Risk; D065227:Transfusion Reaction; D014481:United States
D006510:Hepatitis B Antibodies; D006512:Hepatitis B Core Antigens; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens; D000410:Alanine Transaminase