Prevalence and trends of transfusion-transmittable infections among blood donors in Southwest China.

Background: The high prevalence of transfusion-transmitted infections (TTIs) is causing serious harm to human health worldwide. The aim of this research was to assess the prevalence and influencing factors of TTIs in Southwest China.

Methods: A retrospective study of blood donor records from January 2008 to December 2015 was conducted. All samples were screened for HBV, HCV, HIV and syphilis. The donor's data was recorded and analyzed statistically using SPSS software.

Results: We revealed that the prevalence of TTIs showed a decreasing trend from 2.39 to 1.98%, and this was slightly lower than that in other regions of China. Syphilis infection was the most serious issue among blood donors in Southwest China, which demonstrated a significantly higher rate than that in other areas of China. The high infection rate of the female and farmer groups in rural regions is worth noting. The logistic regression model showed that age, occupation and donor category was the influential factors for TTIs.

Conclusions: The overall prevalence of TTIs demonstrated a decreasing trend from 2008 to 2015 in Southwest China, but there is still a sufficient threat to blood safety, and more efforts are needed to further guarantee blood safety in China.