An epidemiological study of hepatitis B virus amongst blood donors.

The study was carried out on 186 professional blood donors. A detailed-socio economic profile of these donors was taken and the serum was tested for HBs. Ag. Majority (63.4 per cent) of the donors were in the age bracket of 30-40 years with an average age of 34 years. About 83.3 per cent were illiterate and belonged to the lowest rung of the socio economic scale. The average length of blood donation was observed to be 4 years with blood letting frequency of 4.4 within a stipulated period of three months. Most of them were anaemic with an average haemoglobin level of 8.2 gm per cent. The HBs Ag prevalence was observed to be 15.59 per cent. HBs Ag positivity was found to be significantly associated with the length and the frequency of blood donation (P less than .05). Remedial measures for prevention of viral hepatitis-B through professional blood donors was emphasized.