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Anti‐HAV prevalence in a U.K. urban blood donor population and the effect on human normal Ig provision
Author(s) -
Howell D. R.,
Thompson C. J.,
Barbara J. A. J.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
transfusion medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.471
H-Index - 59
eISSN - 1365-3148
pISSN - 0958-7578
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-3148.1993.tb00063.x
Subject(s) - medicine , jaundice , age groups , population , significant difference , immunology , demography , environmental health , sociology
Summary. U.K. blood donors (873) were tested for anti‐HAV and 21% were found to be positive, with no obvious difference between the sexes. The positivity increased with age; 21% of donors between the ages of 30 and 50 years were positive compared with 3% of donors less than 25 years of age; in 1977, the rates were 47 and 10%, respectively. Older donors generally had lower titres of anti‐HAV which suggests that such donors were infected at an early age. Subsequent improvements in hygiene may have resulted in decreased anti‐HAV prevalence in young people. Titres of anti‐HAV were determined for the four donors who gave a history of jaundice and were seropositive: all four had high anti‐HAV levels. Plasma from donors with a history of jaundice may therefore provide a cost‐effective source for enhancing the potency of human normal Ig.