title: Serological and molecular screening for viruses in blood donors from Ntcheu, Malawi: high prevalence of HIV-1 subtype C and of markers of hepatitis B and C viruses.
abstract: The prevalence of antibodies to human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), hepatitis C virus (HCV), human T lymphotropic virus I (HTLV-I), and hepatitis B (HBV) surface antigen (HBsAg) was determined in blood donors from Ntcheu, Malawi. Each donation was also screened for HIV-1 RNA and HCV RNA. Among 159 blood donations, the prevalence of HIV-1 infection was 10.7%, 8.1% for HBV carriage, 6.8% for anti-HCV, and 2.5% for anti-HTLV-I. HIV-1/HTLV-I and HIV-1/HCV dual infections were observed in 1.2% of the donations. Consequently, 13% of blood donors from Ntcheu should be deferred for retroviral infections and 15% for hepatitis viral infections. Sequence analyses of the HIV-1 strains revealed a relatively homogeneous circulation of subtype C viruses in Malawi. These findings confirm the high endemicity of blood-borne viruses in Malawi and the need for a sensitive viral screening of blood donations to improve blood safety.
authors.affiliation: National Blood Service, Cambridge, United Kingdom. dc241@cam.ac.uk
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Candotti
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mundy
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kadewele
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Nkhoma
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Bates
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Allain
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D001782:Blood Donors; D015483:HIV Antibodies / Q000097:blood; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015528:HIV Seroprevalence; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification; D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies / Q000097:blood; D015490:HTLV-I Infections / Q000453:epidemiology; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens / Q000032:analysis; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000453:epidemiology*; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D008295:Malawi / Q000453:epidemiology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D015995:Prevalence; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D015483:HIV Antibodies; D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies; D012367:RNA, Viral