title: Prevalence of hepatitis A viral RNA and antibodies among Chinese blood donors.
abstract: Like other developing countries, China was reported to have a relatively high seroprevalence of anti-hepatitis A antibodies (anti-HAV). However, no studies have evaluated the prevalence of anti-HAV and HAV RNA among voluntary blood donors with or without elevated serum alanine transaminase (ALT) levels. Anti-HAV antibodies were detected using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction was carried out for detection of HAV RNA. In the current study, we analyzed a total of 450 serum samples with elevated ALT levels (≥40 U/L) and 278 serum samples with non-elevated ALT levels. Seroprevalence rates of anti-HAV were 51.6% in donors with elevated ALT and 41.4% in donors with non-elevated ALT; however, none of the samples was positive for HAV RNA. The results of our study showed lower seroprevalence rates of anti-HAV in blood donors (irrespective of ALT levels) than those in published data on Chinese populations. Although donors with elevated ALT had statistically higher prevalence rates of anti- HAV than did those with non-elevated ALT, none of the serum samples had detectable levels of the active virus. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that the transmission of hepatitis A by blood transfusion will occur rarely.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Blood Transfusion, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Chengdu, China.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Institute of Blood Transfusion, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Chengdu, China.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Su
authors.affiliation: Institute of Blood Transfusion, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Chengdu, China lfangzhao@126.com.
authors.forename: F Z
authors.initials: FZ
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Institute of Blood Transfusion, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Chengdu, China.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Blood Center of the Beijing Red Cross, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: H J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Guangzhou Blood Center, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Rong
authors.affiliation: Blood Center of the Nanjing Red Cross, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Y D
authors.initials: YD
authors.lastname: Dai
authors.affiliation: Shaanxi Blood Center, Xian, China.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Deyang Center Blood Station, Deyang, China.
authors.forename: Z W
authors.initials: ZW
authors.lastname: Jian
authors.affiliation: Suzhou Center Blood Station, Suzhou, China.
authors.forename: L H
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Blood Transfusion, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Chengdu, China.
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.affiliation: Institute of Blood Transfusion, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Chengdu, China.
authors.forename: C Q
authors.initials: CQ
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006506:Hepatitis A / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology; D035922:Hepatitis A Antibodies / Q000097:blood; D017957:Hepatitis A Virus, Human / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D008111:Liver Function Tests; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D019562:Viral Load; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D035922:Hepatitis A Antibodies