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

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. J. Med. Virol. 65:1–5, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

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