Prevalence of Syphilis among the Healthy Blood Donors - A Hospital based Retrospective Study

Aim: To highlight the emerging risk of acquiring the infectious pathogen through transfusion and the need to control and prevent such occurrences to make blood transfusion absolutely safe. Methodology: A hospital-based, the descriptive retrospective study was conducted at Ghurki Trust Teaching Hospital, Lahore. The data from February 2019 to July 2019 was collected from the blood bank with the approval of the hospital ethics committee. The screening of the blood for Transfusion-transmitted infections (TTIs) is mandatory in the source hospital. These include HCV, HBV, HIV, Syphilis and Malaria. Results: Out of 9152 blood donors, 9098 (99.41%) were males and 54 (0.59%) were females. Among these donors, 62(0.68%) were found to be reactive for Treponema pallidum. All confirmed cases of syphilis positive donors were males (98.39%), except for one female (1.61%). Conclusion: The prevalence of the syphilis among the blood donors is considerably high and poses a threat to the safety of the recipient. Before this infectious disease becomes a menace to the society, it is imperative to launch a widespread awareness campaign and implement the 'integrated strategy for blood safety and availability' recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).