Seroprevalence of syphilis among blood donors in a tertiary care hospital in and around Koodapakkam, Puducherry, India

Abstract

: Transfusions Transmissible Infections (TTIs) are infections that can transfer from one individual to another through the use of contaminated blood or blood products. In India, it is mandatory to test TTIs before blood transfusion including HBV, HCV, HIV-I/II, malaria, and syphilis. This study was carried out to observe the trend of syphilis among blood donors around Koodapakkam, Puducherry India.: To find out the seroprevalence of syphilis in healthy blood donors.: Retrospective epidemiological study.: A retrospective analysis was conducted on all blood donation and TTI test records from January 2021 to December 2023 at the blood centre of a private medical college and hospital in Puducherry. All positive cases of syphilis were collected. The details of the donor were taken from the donor register. Different variables like blood group, occupation, education status, and type of donor were analyzed.: Out of 1652 blood donors, 27 samples were TTI reactive resulting in TTI % of 1.63. Whereas only 10 donors (0.60%) were found to be syphilis-positive using a rapid card test. None of the syphilis-positive samples were positive for other TTI viz HBV, HCV, HIV, and malaria.: The prevalence of syphilis was 0.60% among the blood donors from the Koodapakkam area. This study concludes that syphilis is in an increasing trend in this area among blood donors. Stringent donor screening is highly recommended to ensure maximum safe blood transfusion.