Association between Secretor Status of ABH Substances and HIV 1& 2 P24 Antigen Screening Status Amongst Eligible Blood Donors with Previously Screened HIV 1& 2 Antibody- Negative Status in Calabar, Nigeria

Aims: New hypotheses suggest non-secretors may be less vulnerable to the HIV infection than secretors. Association between secretor status and HIV P24 antigen status was studied in 400 HIV antibody sero-negative prospective blood donors aged above 20 years of both genders recruited within Calabar, Nigeria.

Materials and Methods: About 3 ml of saliva and 5ml of blood samples were analyzed for HIV antibodies using Stat Pak (by Chembio Diagnostic System International), Determine (by Inverness Medical Japan Cooperation, Limited), Unigold (by Trinity Biotech, USA) rapid test Kits and antigens using HIV P24 antigens Combi test Kits (by Inverness Medical Japan Cooperation, Limited) respectively. Secretor Status done using Anti-H Lectin reagent by BIOTEC Laboratories Limited, UK.

Results: Out of 400 samples, 80 (20%) were non-secretors and 320(80%) secretors. while 6(8.1%) non-secretor and 9(2.9%) secretor samples reacted to HIV P24 antigen screening test. Chi-Square (X2=5.655, P=0.025) showed significant difference between secretor and non-secretors based on gender. No significant difference exits between HIV p24 antigen status and secretor status (chi squared X2 =0.007, P =0.9) and secretor status and the three HIV Antibody test kits (F -ratio = 1.7997, P =0.307)

Conclusion: No significant association found between secretor status and HIV P24 antigen status but detectable P24 antigens were more in secretors than non-secretos.