Seroepidemiological Investigation of Hepatitis B and C Prevalence and Associated Factors Among People in Custody at Zahedan Central Prison.

BACKGROUND: On a global scale, approximately 350 million are affected by hepatitis B, and 71 million by hepatitis C. People in custody face elevated risks for these infections. The prevalence and risk factors in Iranian prisons are insufficiently documented. The principal objective of this study was to ascertain the prevalence of hepatitis B and C, coupled with the identification of pertinent influencing factors, within the confines of Zahedan central prison, situated in the southeastern region of Iran. METHODS: In 2019, we conducted an analytical cross-sectional study involving 407 people in custody, using stratified random sampling. To definitively diagnose hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection (P<0.05), a checklist developed by the researchers, along with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) techniques, were employed. RESULTS: This study comprised 406 participants (96.3% male) with a median age of 32 years (27-38). Approximately 62% were married, and a substantial proportion of the participants had low education levels (47%), unemployment (64%), and belonged to the Baloch ethnicity (64%). The overall prevalence of hepatitis C and B infections was 2.7% and 10.6%, respectively. Tattooing (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 2.07, 95% CI: 1.9-4.5) and marriage (AOR: 1.78, 95% CI: 1.05-3.04) were identified as risk factors for hepatitis B. Moreover, hepatitis C showed a statistically significant association with a family history of hepatitis B and C (AOR: 3.31, 95% CI: 3.93-24.64) and intravenous (IV) drug use (AOR: 7.01, 95% CI: 1.52-32.78) according to the multivariable logistic regression analysis. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of hepatitis B and C was higher among people in custody in Zahedan central prison. Consequently, targeted interventions are vital to address and reduce viral hepatitis burden in custodial settings.

Association between common variants in vitamin D receptor gene and susceptibility to Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma: a case-control study.

Vitamin D (VDR)-mediated signaling contributes to the cell signaling pathways that affect cancer development. This study is conducted on 104 patients diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) and 246 healthy subjects to investigate the link between five genetic variants spanning the VDR gene and the risk of this malignancy in Iranian subjects. The PCR-RFLP method was used for the analysis of BsmI (rs1544410), ApaI (rs7975232), FokI (rs2228570) and TaqI (rs731236) variants. A simple Tetra-ARMS-PCR technique was employed for the genotyping of the Cdx2 (rs11568820) variant. No significant link was found between both groups regarding ApaI (rs7975232) and FokI (rs2228570) variants (P > 0.05). Also, different genetic models of TaqI (rs731236), BsmI (rs1544410) and Cdx2 (rs11568820) polymorphisms were significantly correlated to decreased risk of NHL (Odd ratios <1). We found three haplotypes were strongly associated with an increased risk of NHL (P < 0.0001). Linkage-disequilibrium (LD) analysis showed a strong linkage between TaqI (rs731236) and BsmI (rs1544410) among NHL case and control subjects. Our findings indicated that functional variants of the VDR gene are linked to a decreased risk of NHL in our population. Further replication studies in different ethnic groups are needed to validate our results.

The Prevalence of Absolute and Functional Iron Deficiency Anemia in New Cases of Smear-positive Pulmonary Tuberculosis and Their Sputum Conversion Rate at the End of Intensive Tuberculosis Treatment Phase.

About one third of the population is infected with tuberculosis (TB). On the other hand, iron deficiency is the most common micronutrient deficiency in the world. A number of studies have documented anemia in patients with TB, however, this study aimed to assess the prevalence of iron deficiency anemia (IDA) in patients with acid-fast bacilli (AFB) sputum smear-positive, and sputum conversion in these two groups of patients with absolute and functional IDA at the end of the second month of anti-TB therapy in Zahedan, Iran. The results of this study revealed that 91 out of 198 (45.9%) sputum positive pulmonary TB patients were anemic, and among those 72 (79.1%) had iron deficiency anemia. The overall prevalence of IDA in this study was 36.3%. In 72 patients with IDA, 54 (75%) had functional while the remainder had absolute IDA 18 (25%). Twenty-one out of 72 (29.2%) of patients with IDA remained sputum positive and among 126 non IDA patients 47 (37.3%) had positive sputum smear at the end of intensive TB treatment phase (p=0.278). Approximately, less than half of patients with tuberculosis had anemia among them 79% had iron deficiency anemia. The frequency of functional IDA was three times more than absolute IDA. There was no statistically significant difference in sputum conversion between two groups of IDA and non-IDA patients after intensive phase of anti-TB therapy.

Dengue Fever as an Emerging Infection in Southeast Iran.

Dengue fever (DF) is a mosquito-borne acute viral disease presenting with hemorrhagic manifestations in severe cases. Southeast Iran is in close proximity to Pakistan, an endemic country for DF. This cross-sectional study was conducted in the Sistan and Baluchestan province in the southeast of Iran to investigate possibility of DF (immunoglobulin M [IgM], immunoglobulin G [IgG], and nonstructural protein 1 [NS1] antigen tests) in 60 clinically suspected patients (April 2013 to August 2015). NS1 protein was detected in 5% (N = 3), at least one of the antibodies (IgM and/ or IgG) was detected in 11% (N = 7) of the samples. Five patients identified as of acutely infected. There was a simultaneous presence of NS1 protein and IgG or IgM antibodies in 4% (N = 2) of patients. Previous studies show establishment of potential vectors in this area. These evidences support the hypothesis that DF can be a health concern in Southeast Iran with potential future outbreaks.

Novel, In-House, SYBR Green Based One-Step rRT-PCR: Rapid and Accurate Diagnosis of Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus in Suspected Patients From Iran.

BACKGROUND: The Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) virus causes severe disease in humans, with a high mortality rate. Since, there is no approved vaccine or specific treatment for CCHF, an early and accurate diagnosis, as well as reliable surveillance, is essential for case management and patient improvement. OBJECTIVES: For this research, our aim was to evaluate the application of a novel SYBR Green based one-step real-time reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) assay for the in-house diagnosis of the CCHF virus. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In this experimental study, the highly conserved S-region sequence of the CCHF viral genome was first adapted from GenBank, and the specific primers targeting this region were designed. Then, the viral RNA was extracted from 75 serum samples from different patients in eastern Iran. The sensitivity and specificity of the primers were also evaluated in positive serum samples previously confirmed to have the CCHF virus, by this one-step rRT-PCR assay, as well as a DNA sequencing analysis. RESULTS: From a total of 75 suspected serum samples, 42 were confirmed to be positive for CCHF virus, with no false-positives detected by the sequencing results. After 40 amplification cycles, the melting curve analysis revealed a mean melting temperature (Tm) of 86.5 ± 0.6°C (quite different from those of the primer-dimers), and the positive samples showed only a small variation in the parameters. In all of the positive samples, the predicted length of 420 bp was confirmed by electrophoresis. Moreover, the sensitivity test showed that this assay can detect less than 20 copies of viral RNA per reaction. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that this novel one-step rRT-PCR assay is a rapid, reliable, repeatable, specific, sensitive, and simple tool for the detection of the CCHF virus.

Acute Q fever among febrile patients in Zahedan, southeastern Iran.

AIM: So far, few studies have been conducted on Q fever in Iran. The objective of this study was to determine the frequency of acute Q fever in febrile patients admitted to Boo-Ali Hospital in Zahedan (southeastern Iran). MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study, 105 febrile patients suspected ofhaving brucellosis were examined using indirect immunofluorescent assay kit for the detection of Coxiella burnetii IgM and IgG phase antibodies in their serum. Serum with a phase II IgG titer of > or =256 and a phase II IgM titer of > or =50 was predictive for acute Q fever. Additionally, a 4-fold rise in antibody titers was considered diagnostic of Q fever. Results were analyzed using SPSS 17.0 for Windows. RESULTS: Among 105 patients (male: 52, female: 53), 35.2% (37/105) febrile patients had a positive serology test for acute Q fever. The prevalence of acute Q fever in women and men was 17/37 (45.9%) and 20/37 (54%), respectively. There was serological evidence of past infection in 36 (34.3%) patients. CONCLUSION: According to the results of our study, acute Q fever is highly prevalent in this province. Thus, it is necessary to pay attention to this disease to prevent its transmission in this region.