First Report from Afghanistan on the Prevalence of Blood-Borne Infections: A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Multicentre Study for an Epidemiological Assessment.

Background: The transfusion of blood and blood components has a significant role in healthcare services. However, it remains a possible risk factor for blood-borne infections. The present study was conducted to assess the prevalence of serological markers of common blood-borne infections among the blood donor population of Afghanistan.

A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis on the Epidemiology of Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C Virus among Beta-Thalassemia Major Patients in Pakistan.

Beta-thalassemia major patients are the leading consumers of blood transfusions in Pakistan and, therefore, have a greater risk of acquiring transfusion-transmitted infections, most notably hepatitis B and C virus (HBV and HCV). The present study includes a comprehensive review on the status of HBV and HCV in beta-thalassemia major patients in Pakistan. For this purpose, we examined original articles assessing the epidemiology of HBV and HCV in transfusion-dependent thalassemia patients.

Seroprevalence of Transfusion-Transmitted Infections among Voluntary and Replacement Blood Donors at the Peshawar Regional Blood Centre, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.

 Blood transfusion is linked to several risks, most notably the transmission of transfusion-transmitted infections (TTIs), including hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), syphilis, and malaria. The risk posed by these blood-borne infectious agents is high in developing countries, including Pakistan. This fact stresses the need for regular surveillance of TTIs.

Molecular and genetic characterization of hepatitis B virus among multitransfused thalassaemia patients in Islamabad, Pakistan.

Background: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is the aetiological agent of transfusion-transmitted hepatitis globally. Beta thalassaemia major individuals are at greater risk of contracting HBV infection due to multiple blood transfusions required for the medical management of these patients. Based on HBV genetic variability, it is divided into 10 genotypes.

Genetic Diversity of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 in Asymptomatic Blood Donors in Islamabad, Pakistan.

 The serological testing of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is mandatory under the blood safety legislation of Pakistan; hence, data exist on the prevalence of HIV in blood donors. However, little is known about the molecular epidemiology of HIV in the blood donor population. Therefore, the current study was designed to study the genetic diversity of HIV-1 infection in a population of apparently healthy treatment-naive blood donors in Islamabad, Pakistan.

Evaluation of screening effectiveness of hepatitis B surface antigen and anti-HCV rapid test kits in Pakistan.

Objective: The current study was conducted to evaluate the performance and screening effectiveness of commercially available rapid screening kits in comparison with chemiluminescence immunoassay (CLIA) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

Materials And Methods: This single-center, cross-sectional study was conducted at the Department of Pathology and Blood Transfusion Services, Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University, PIMS, Islamabad, from January to April 2019. A total of 10 commercially available immunochromatographic test (ICT) devices and one CLIA kit (LIAISON XL) were tested for their sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and accuracy using 100 positive and 100 negative samples each for HBV and HCV, respectively.