Prevalence and trends of hepatitis B and C virus biomarkers in Zimbabwe: comparative analyses of a nation's blood-donor surveillance data and meta-analyses of population studies.

Background: The disproportionate burden of viral hepatitis, particularly hepatitis B virus (HBV) is experienced by people living in low-resourced sub-Saharan Africa, where the estimated prevalence is 3-7 times the global average. Therefore to inform policy, we describe the seroprevalence and trends of hepatitis C (HCV) and HBV biomarkers: anti-HCV antibody and hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), respectively, in Zimbabwe.

Methods: We analysed data from 181,248 consecutive blood-donors, examined between January 2015 through December 2018.

Cost effectiveness of adding nucleic acid testing to hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and human immunodeficiency virus screening of blood donations in Zimbabwe.

Background: The aim of this study was to assess the cost effectiveness of introducing individual-donation nucleic acid testing (ID-NAT), in addition to serologic tests, compared with the exclusive use of serologic tests for the identification of hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) I and II among blood donors in Zimbabwe.

Study Design And Methods: The costs, health consequences, and cost effectiveness of adding ID-NAT to serologic tests, compared with serologic testing alone, were estimated from a health care perspective using a decision-analytic model.

Results: The introduction of ID-NAT in addition to serologic tests would lower the risk of HBV, HCV, and HIV transmission to 46.