Menace of Hepatitis C virus among multitransfused thalassemia patients in Balasore district of Odisha state in India

Context: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a potential cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. It is most commonly transmitted through injecting drug use; the reuse or inadequate sterilization of medical equipment and the transfusion of unscreened blood products. Management of thalassemia requires long-term blood transfusion. Though it improves the overall survival, it carries a definite risk of infection which is expected to be higher in resource limited settings. Aims: To find the percentage of transfusion-transmitted infections (TTIs) in multitransfused patients of thalassemia in Eastern India. Settings and Design: The study was conducted to assess blood safety in rural population in India by measuring the percentage of TTIs including HCV in multitransfused thalassemia patients. Methods and Materials: One hundred and twenty three patients with major beta-thalassemia were enrolled in this study. The blood samples were tested using ELISA technique for all TTIs. HIV fourth generation kits, HbsAg, HCV third generation kits, malaria and syphilis, parbovirus IgM and parbovirus IgG kits, HEV Antigen and IgM antibody were used. Statistical Analysis Used: Proportions and means were calculated for categorical and continuous variables, respectively. Chi-square test was applied and P value of <0.05 was taken as significant. Results: The mean age of patients was 9.5 years ± 5.2 years. Among various TTIs, Hepatitis C and HIV was prevalent among 59.3% and 4.1% of the study participants, respectively. Conclusions: The causes of high prevalence of HCV may be due to donors being usually asymptomatic in early stages, despite being screened for HCV possibly due to missing early window period infections. The screening methodology of TTIs particularly HCV at the district and village level and consequent increased prevalence of HCV in multitransfused rustic population of India shows the extent of blood safety.