Status and epidemiological characteristics of human immunodeficiency virus infection in voluntary blood donors in Jinan, China

Objective To investigate the status and epidemiological characteristics of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in voluntary blood donors in Jinan, China, and to provide a basis for formulating reasonable HIV blood screening strategies and improving blood donation recruitment in this region. Methods A retrospective analysis was performed for the preliminary screening results of HIV antibody/antigen and nucleic acid of the blood samples of all voluntary blood donors in Jinan Blood Supply and Security Center from 2014 to 2020. According to the confirmation results of reactive samples from Jinan Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the epidemiological data and blood donation data of HIV-positive individuals were collected by consulting the information management system of Shinow Blood Station. Results Among the 284 778 samples, 277 were reactive for primary screening, resulting in a reactivity rate of 0.97‰. Among the 65 reactive samples based on dual-reagent ELISA, 46 were confirmed positive, with a confirmed positive rate of 0.16‰, while 9 samples were uncertain. Among the confirmed positive blood donors, there were 45 male individuals and 1 female individual, and most of the infected individuals were aged 21-40 years, especially 21-30 years. The highest proportion of the individuals with HIV infection was observed among the first-time blood donors (65.22%), the whole blood donors (95.65%), and the individual voluntary blood donors (95.65%). Conclusion There is a relatively high coincidence rate between ELISA dual-reagent reactivity and confirmation results, and ELISA and nucleic acid testing should be used in combination for blood screening to prevent the missed detection of HIV. HIV infection in voluntary blood donors shows the characteristics of sex, age, and occupation distribution, and targeted publicity of the knowledge of HIV prevention and treatment should be strengthened for different populations. Meanwhile, the internet information sharing system should be used to eliminate HIV-positive blood donors, so as to improve the quality of blood supply from the source.