title: Seroprevalence of transfusion-transmissible infectious agents among volunteer blood donors between 2006 and 2012 in Zhejiang, China.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The high prevalence of hepatitis B and C viruses (HBV and HCV), paralleling the growing epidemic of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and Treponema pallidum (TP) infections in the general population, poses a great threat to blood safety in China. This study investigated the prevalence of serological markers for causative agents of transfusion-transmissible infections (TTI), i.e. HBV, HCV, HIV and TP, among volunteer blood donors in five cities/regions of Zhejiang Province, China.
  
  
  METHODS
  We investigated whole blood and apheresis donations collected at the Blood Services in five cities/regions in Zhejiang Province between January 1, 2006 and December 31, 2012. Two rounds of serological testing were performed for HBsAg, anti-HCV, anti-HIV1/2 and anti-TP using different kits. The rates of serological positivity were calculated and further analysis was performed to examine the association between donors' characteristics and seroprevalence.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 1,615,120 donations, approximately 40% came from first-time donors and 60% from repeat donors. The overall seroprevalence rates of HBV, HCV, HIV and TP were 0.51%, 0.25%, 0.15% and 0.52%, respectively. The overall prevalences of HCV and HIV remained relatively steady, whereas the prevalence of TP increased sharply after 2010. However, the prevalence of TTI agents varied among volunteer blood donors in different cities/regions and demographic groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We collected data on the seroprevalence of TTI agents among volunteer blood donors. Although the risk of TTI is low in China compared to that in some developing countries, sensitive screening methods and recruitment of regular donors are still very important for blood safety and availability.
authors.affiliation: Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China.|Blood Centre of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, China.|Key Laboratory of Blood Safety Research, Ministry of Health, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Xiaofan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.affiliation: Blood Centre of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, China.|Key Laboratory of Blood Safety Research, Ministry of Health, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.affiliation: Blood Centre of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, China.|Key Laboratory of Blood Safety Research, Ministry of Health, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Gan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Blood Centre of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, China.|Key Laboratory of Blood Safety Research, Ministry of Health, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Yaling
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Blood Centre of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, China.|Key Laboratory of Blood Safety Research, Ministry of Health, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Danxiao
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Blood Centre of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, China.|Key Laboratory of Blood Safety Research, Ministry of Health, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Blood Centre of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, China.|Key Laboratory of Blood Safety Research, Ministry of Health, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Ji
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Wenzhou Blood Station, Wenzhou, China.
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Lishui Blood Station, Lishui, Zhejiang, China.
authors.forename: Longyou
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Blood Centre of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, China.|Key Laboratory of Blood Safety Research, Ministry of Health, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Faming
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China.|Blood Centre of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, China.|Key Laboratory of Blood Safety Research, Ministry of Health, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Hangjun
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lv
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001782:Blood Donors; D017848:Blood-Borne Pathogens; D002681:China; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D013587:Syphilis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission*; D014210:Treponema pallidum; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission*; D014780:Viruses