[Prevalence of HCV infection in thalassemic and hemodialysis patients in Kerman Province-Iran]

People with thalessemia and chronic renal failure on maintenance hemodialysis are prone to blood-born infections, especially hepatitis C due to the long-term transfusion. Recently, hepatitis C has been one of the main health concerns in these patients. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of hepatitis C and its risk factors in these groups of patients in Kerman province of Iran. HCV RNA in blood sample of 384 patients [203 hemodialysis cases and 181 thalassemia cases] was evaluated. One hundred thirty [130] out of 384 were infected by HCV. Infected male was predominant [83%].It seems that the frequency of hepatitis C infection in Kerman is higher than the other provinces of Iran. Therefore more attention should be paid to screen of blood before transfusing for these group of patients

Hepatitis C virus antibody positive cases in multitransfused thalassaemic patients in south of Iran

Hepatitis C virus [HCV] infection is the common cause of liver disease among thalassemic patients who receive recurrent blood transfusion. Recent studies in Iran has shown a high prevalance of HCV among Iranian thalassemic patients, inspite of low HCV seroprevalence in general population. In this study we investigated the prevalence of new cases of hepatitis C and its risk factor in the group of thalassemia major patients. This study was carried out in thalassemic ward of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, southern Iran in year 2003. Cases were interviewed using a standard questionnaire including demographic, clinical history and HCV related risk behaviors. Then 3 blood samples were investigated by serum marker of anti-HCV antiboby [anti-HCV Ab] via Eliza-3th method in times zero, 45 days and after 6 months follow-up. The mean age of patients were 15.2 +/- 6.3 [1-36 years old] and the proportion of male to female 1 to 1. The rate of HCV antibody positivity in the first sample was 25%. All of the second and third blood samples were negative. There was significant correlation between age and being positive for anti-HCV Ab [P < 0.001] and also between being positive anti-HCV Ab and the time they began to receive blood transfusion. The patients who started blood transfusion before 1996 [the year we started screening program for blood donors in Blood Bank in Iran] had 12.5 times more risk for being positive for anti-HCV Ab [odds ratio = 12.5]. Our results approved the effect of screening program for blood donors in blood transfusion centers

Transfusion transmitted virus [TTV] infection in thalassemic patients

TTV was first isolated from the serum of a Japanese patient with post transfusion hepatitis of unknown etiology in 1977. TTV has been visualized by electron microscopy and was found to be an unenveloped, small, spherical particle with a diameter of 30-32 nm, and is a member of family related to Circovridae family. The exact role of TTV in the pathogenesis of liver disease is yet to be established. Our aim was to determine the prevalence of TTV in thalassemic patients in Ahwaz. Viral DNA was studied in 250 thalasemic patients. The results were compared with those of 250 blood donor controls. DNA was extracted from plasma and amplified by semi nested polymerase chain reaction with reported primer sets from a conserved region of the TTV genome. 57.2% [143/250] samples obtained from patients and 20% [54/250] of blood donors were positive for TTV-DNA detected by PCR. The difference in TTV prevalence between the two groups was statistically [CHI 2] significant [P= 0.0001]. The prevalence of TTV-DNA in Iranian thalassemic patients is high, which is the same as other countries

Serologic and genomic markers of hepatitis C virus among thalassemic children in Zagazig University Hospitals

This study included 52 cases with thalassemia and 25 age and sex matched children as control. For all cases, serum bilirubin, ALT, AST, HBsAg measurement and serological tests for detection of anti- HCV antibodies [ELISA and immunocomb] were done. PCR for the detecting of HCV-RNA was done for all cases. ALT and AST levels were high in cases than the control group. There was no significant relation between PCR positivity for HCV and high ALT, but was with significant relation for positive serological tests. There were no significant correlations between high AST and each of PCR positivity and positive serological tests. In the thalassemic group, PCR was positive in 46.1%, ELISA was positive in 73% and immunocomb was positive in 71.1%. In the control group, serological tests were positive for HCV with two children, all were PCR negative. The sensitivity and specificity of ELISA and immunocomb were 95.8%, 46.4% and 95.8%, 50.0%, respectively, compared with PCR test as a referral test. There were positive relations between PCR positivity and increasing age of the case and the male sex. It was concluded that HCV infection is high in thalassemic cases. Blood transfusion appears to be an important way for HCV infection. PCR is a sensitive and specific marker for HCV-RNA