Abstract

Prevalence of hepatitis A viral RNA and antibodies among Chinese blood donors

Author(s): P. Sun, N. Su, F.Z. Lin, L. Ma, H.J. Wang, X. Rong, Y.D. Dai4, J. Li, Z.W. Jian6, L.H. Tang, W. Xiao and C.Q. Li

Like other developing countries, China was reported to have a relatively high seroprevalence of anti-hepatitis A antibodies (anti-HAV). However, no studies have evaluated the prevalence of anti-HAV and HAV RNA among voluntary blood donors with or without elevated serum alanine transaminase (ALT) levels. Anti-HAV antibodies were detected using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction was carried out for detection of HAV RNA. In the current study, we analyzed a total of 450 serum samples with elevated ALT levels (≥40 U/L) and 278 serum samples with non-elevated ALT levels. Seroprevalence rates of anti-HAV were 51.6% in donors with elevated ALT and 41.4% in donors with non-elevated ALT; however, none of the samples was positive for HAV RNA.

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