Preventing transfusion-transmitted infections such as hepatitis B (HBV) and hepatitis C (HCV) is important to ensure a safe blood supply.
The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently summarized HBV and HCV surveillance data from the past decade in sub-Saharan Africa. Between 2000 and 2011, the median number of blood donations increased to over 86,000 units per country. Additionally, the number of countries screening at least 95% of donations increased from 76% to 94% for HBV and 34% to 86% for HCV. During the same time period, the median percentage of hepatitis marker-positive blood donations decreased from 7.1% to 4.4% for HBV and 1.4% to 0.9% for HCV. Overall, this report highlights that many sub-Saharan African countries have made significant progress with screening for HBV and HCV.
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