Natural immunity to influenza A and B among Saudi blood donors in Al Madinah Al Munawarah, Saudi Arabia

• Published in: Saudi medical journal 2020-12, Vol.41 (12), p.1301-1307
• Main Authors: Mahallawi, Waleed H, Ibrahim, Nadir A, Alahmadi, Khalid S, Al-Harbi, Abdullah K, Almughthawi, Mohammed A, Alhazmi, Omar A, Alsehli, Fayez H, Khabour, Omar F
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Age; Antibodies; Antibodies, Viral - blood; Blood & organ donations; Blood Donors; Body Mass Index; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Enzymes; Female; Health aspects; Hepatitis; Humans; Immune system; Immunity, Innate - immunology; Immunoglobulin G - blood; Infections; Influenza; Influenza A virus - immunology; Influenza B virus - immunology; Influenza, Human - immunology; Influenza, Human - virology; Male; Medical research; Natural immunity; Original; Regression analysis; Saudi Arabia; Seroepidemiologic Studies; Tissue donors; Vaccines; Viral infections; Viruses; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0379-5284; 1658-3175
• DOI: 10.15537/smj.2020.12.05582

 To investigate the seroprevalence of influenza viruses (A and B) among blood donors in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Methods: The present investigation was conducted between April 2019 and July 2019. Participants were healthy adults recruited from the central blood bank Al Madinah Al Munawarah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Immunoglobulin G (IgG) levels against influenza A and B were measured in serum samples using ELISA. The results showed that 29.2% of the sample had significant concentrations of influenza A IgG antibody, whereas 38.6% had significant concentrations of influenza B IgG antibody. A strong correlation was found between the levels of influenza A and influenza B antibodies (r=0.708, p less than 0.001). The number of individuals identified as negative for influenza A IgG antibody increased with age (p less than 0.01). In addition, no correlations were identified between influenza A IgG and influenza B IgG and body mass index (BMI), (p greater than 0.05). Finally, linear regression analysis showed that the level of influenza A antibody can be predicted by age (p less than 0.05) and body mass index (BMI) (p less than 0.05).  Approximately one-third of Saudi Arabian adults presented significant levels of influenza A and B antibodies in our study. Demographic factors, including age and BMI, might contribute to influenza A antibody levels.