Prevalence of Human T-Lymphotropic virus infection among selected blood donor facilities in parts of Jigawa State, Nigeria

Abstract

Human T-Lymphotropic virus (HTLV-1) is a human retrovirus associated with several immune related disorders. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of human T-LV-1 among blood donors in Jigawa state, Nigeria. A descriptive cross-sectional design was used to study blood donors who presented at the blood bank of hospitals in three senatorial zones namely Dutse, Kazaure and Hadejia General Hospitals respectively selected using a systematic sampling technique. The data was analysed using SPSS Version 20 with statistical significance set at P≤5%. The prevalence of the virus in this study was 9(6%). Only 8 (5.3%) married respondents were positive. All the respondents that have undergone previous blood transfusion do not have the virus The burden of the virus among blood donors is significant and therefore a system of quality screening of all the blood donated to the blood bank should be enforced, an antigen based test will be better.