Seroprevalence of Human T-Lymphotropic Virus Type-1 (HTLV-1) Among Blood Donors at a Tertiary Hospital in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, Nigeria

The study was a cross-sectional study done on the Blood Bank Unit of the Federal Teaching Hospital, Ebonyi State, Nigeria among blood donors. MethodsThe total number of prospective blood donors that were initially screened against HIV, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C virus was 300, to which, 93 eligible donors were incorporated in the study. Anti-HTLV-1 IgM and IgG antibodies in serum were also tested in the Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) technique. The descriptive statistics were used in the analysis of data. ResultsOut of the 93 blood donors analyzed, 23 (24.6%) were positive for HTLV-1 antibodies. Seropositivity was highest among donors aged 30-35 years, with anti-HTLV-1 IgM and IgG prevalences of 35.3% and 29.4% respectively, compared with lower values in other age groups. Married donors showed higher IgM (32.8%) and IgG (34.1%) seroprevalence than single donors (IgM: 20.3%; IgG: 18.9%). Female donors recorded higher seroprevalence (IgM: 26.0%; IgG: 27.3%) than male donors (IgM: 23.4%; IgG: 22.1%). Occupational distribution showed the highest seroprevalence among artisans (IgM: 37.5%; IgG: 37.5%), followed by students (IgM: 25.7%; IgG: 22.9%), traders (IgM/IgG: 23.8%), and civil servants (IgM: 14.3%; IgG: 19.0%). Variance analysis revealed significant differences among serological patterns (IgG-IgM+, IgG+IgM-, IgG+IgM+, IgG-IgM-), with mean values differing significantly at p [≤] 0.05. ConclusionThis research has revealed that seroprevalence of HTLV-1 was very high among the blood donors, which indicates that there is the possibility of transfusion-transmitted infection. Routine HTLV-1 screening as the measure to enhance blood safety in the area is important.