Hepatitis B Vaccine Uptake among Voluntary Blood Donors in Jos: Implication on Blood Safety

Abstract

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a transfusion-transmissible pathogen that poses a significant threat to blood safety. The virus burden is high in the general population and among blood donors in Sub-Saharan Africa, leading to more donor rejection; blood discards, and increased risk of contamination of the blood supply. Hepatitis B Virus is vaccine-preventable; increased burden of infection may suggest a gap in vaccination. The study aimed to assess the level of hepatitis B virus vaccine uptake and identify factors affecting uptake of the vaccine among voluntary non remunerated blood donors (VNRBD) in Jos, Nigeria. A survey was conducted at the National Blood Transfusion Service (NBTS), Jos, among consenting VNRBD aged between 18 and 65 years from October to December 2020 using a structured questionnaire to collect information on vaccination status, socio-demographics and others. Of the 120 VNRBD interviewed, 36.7% received one or more doses of the HBV vaccine, while the majority (63.3%) were unvaccinated. Among the unvaccinated donors, 57.9% were unaware that HBV has a vaccine, 21.1% did not know where to get the vaccine, 7.9% had no time to get vaccinated; 3.9 % believed that there was no need to get vaccinated because they tested negative for the virus, while 9.2% gave no reason. Our study found a low uptake of HBV vaccine among VNRBD in our environment. We advocate for increased awareness and strong legislation to ensure universal access to the vaccine by Nigerians.