ABSTRACT
Though regular blood transfusion improves the overall survival of patients with p-thalassemia, it carries a definite risk of infection with blood-borne viruses. The present study was carried out to estimate the real frequency of hepatitis B virus [HBV] and hepatitis C virus [HCV] among Egyptian P-thalassemic patients, and determine the infection-associated risk factors in these patients. A prospective study conducted in a university hospital from January 2009 to January 2010. Two hundred patients with p-thalassemia major were enrolled in this study. Using enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent assay [EEISA], their sera were tested for hepatitis B surface antigen [HBsAg], antibody to hepatitis C core antigen [anti-HBc], and HCV antibody [HCV Ab]. The positive HCV Ab results were confirmed by second generation recombinant immunoblot assay [RIBA]. The study sample consisted of 111 males and 89 females, with a median age of 13 years. Eighty-one [40.5%] patients were HCV Ab positive by ELISA and 39 [19.5] were anti-HCV positive By RIBA; 58 [29.0%] were HBsAg positive and 13 [6.5%] were anti-HBc positive. Older age, an increased number of transfusion units, and HBsAg seropositivity were significantly associated with a higher prevalence of HCV and HBV. The prevalence of HCV and HBV infections are very high among Egyptian p-thalassemic patients, which calls for a critical look into the prevailing transfusion practices and adoption of stricter donor selection criteria to decrease the incidence rate of both HCV and HBV infections effectively. Furthermore, there is a compressing need for the use of more specific and sensitive methods for HCV testing in Mansoura University Hospitals