Transfusion-transmissible infections among Serbian blood donors: declining trends over the period 2005-2017

Background. The mass migrations experienced by the Western Balkans in the past decades have significantly changed the demographic structures and have probably altered the prevalence of transfusion-transmitted infections (TTIs) among blood donors. However, data on the prevalence of TTIs in the Western Balkans countries remain incomplete. This study reports the prevalence of TTIs among blood donors in Serbia in the period 2005-2017. Materials and methods. Between January 2005 and December 2017. in the four largest Serbian transfusion centres, mandatory serology tests for screening HBV, HCV, HIV and syphilis infection were used for all blood donations. Results. Of the total of 1,660,019 blood donations made, 3,377 (0.203%) were positive for one of the TTIs: 1,440 (0.087%), 1,055 (0.064%), 215 (0.013%), and 667 (0.040%) were positive for HBV, HCV, HIV and syphilis, respectively. Serbia showed a declining trend of prevalence of HBV and HCV infection, while prevalence of HIV and syphilis remained unchanged. Prevalence of TTIs varied between different transfusion centres and showed a north-to-south upward trend. Discussion. The reported prevalence of TTIs among blood donors in Serbia was low and continued to follow a declining trend over the period of study.