Prevalence of Hepatitis-C virus (HCV) among
Thalassemia Patients in Khuzestan Province, Southwest Iran

Mehri Ghafourian Boroujerdnia¹, Mohammad Ali Assareh Zadegan²,
Khoda Morad Zandian³, Morteza Haghirizadeh Rodan⁴

ABSTRACT

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of HCV infection among thalassemia patients in Khuzestan province, southwest Iran.

Methodology: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted on 206 thalassemia patients referred to the Research Center of Thalassemia and Hemoglobinopathy (RCTH) of Ahvaz Shafa Hospital during March 2006 to April 2007. Demographic data were obtained from the patient files at the hospital. Serum specimens were tested with anti-HCV assays and a nested-PCR technique to assess HCV infection.

Results: Out of 206 patients, 97 (47.1%) and 109 (52.9%) were male and female, respectively, with a mean ±SD age of 16.4±6.42 years. The overall prevalence rate of anti-HCV was 28.1% (58/206, 95% CI: 22.4-34.6). Forty six of anti-HCV positive patients (46/58, 79.3%) were also HCV RNA positive. HCV–positive patients were significantly older from HCV-negative ones (p<0.001). In addition, the results indicate that higher prevalence of anti-HCV or HCV RNA were significantly associated with longer duration of transfusion (p<0.003 and p<0.001, respectively).

Conclusion: Although it seems blood donor screening project reduced HCV infection, using more accurate technique is necessary in order to find viral infection and treat thalassemia patients with HCV infection more carefully.

KEY WORDS: Prevalence, Thalassemia, Hepatitis C, Khuzestan.

Pak J Med Sci    January - March 2009    Vol. 25 No. 1    113-117

How to cite this article:

Ghafourian Boroujerdnia M, Assareh Zadegan MA, Zandian KM, Haghirizadeh Rodan M. Prevalence of Hepatitis C virus (HCV) among Thalassemia Patients in Khuzestan Province, Southwest Iran. Pak J Med Sci 2009;25(1):113-117.

---

1. Mehri Ghafourian Boroujerdnia,
Infectious and Tropical Diseases Research Center,
Hemoglobinopathy & Thalassemia Research Center
of Ahwaz Shafa Hospital,
Ahwaz Joundishapour University of Medical Sciences,
Ahwaz - Iran.
2. Mohammad Ali Assareh Zadegan,
3. Morteza Haghirizadeh,
2-3: Department of Immunology, Faculty of Medicine,
Ahwaz Joundishapour University of Medical Sciences,
Ahwaz, Islamic Republic of Iran.
4. Khoda Morad Zandian
4: Hemoglobinopathy & Thalassemia
Research Center of Ahwaz Shafa Hospital,
Shafa Hospital, Ahwaz, Iran.

 Correspondence:

Mehri Ghafourian Boroujerdnia,
Infectious and Tropical Diseases Research Center,
Hemoglobinopathy & Thalassemia Research Center,
of Ahwaz Shafa Hospital,
Ahwaz Joundishapour University of Medical Sciences,
Ahwaz - Iran.
E-mail: Mehri_Ghafourian@yahoo.com

* Received for Publication: May 30, 2008
* Revision Received: December 17, 2008
* Revision Accepted: December 20, 2008

---

HOME   |   SEARCH   |   CURRENT ISSUE   |   PAST ISSUES

Professional Medical Publications
Room No. 522, 5th Floor, Panorama Centre
Building No. 2, P.O. Box 8766, Saddar, Karachi - Pakistan.
Phones : 5688791, 5689285 Fax : 5689860
pjms@