Prevalence of HCV Infection in Thalassemic and Hemodialysis Patients in Kerman Province-Iran

• Main Authors: GH Hassanshahi, M Kazemi Arababadi, ER Zarandi, M Moradi, R Vazirinegad, H Yousefi Darehdor, SE Pourhosseini, SMA Sajadi, M Arasteh
• Format: Article
• Language: fas
• Published: Tehran University of Medical Sciences 2009-06-01
• Series: مجله اپیدمیولوژی ایران
• Subjects: Hepatitis C; Thalassemia; Hemodialysis; Kerman
• Online Access: http://irje.tums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-25-124&slc_lang=en&sid=1
• ISSN: 1735-7489; 2228-7507

Background and objectives: 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.Methods: HCV RNA in blood sample of 384 patients (203 hemodialysis cases and 181 thalassemia cases) was evaluated. Results: One hundred thirty (130) out of 384 were infected by HCV. Infected male was predominant (83%). Conclusions: 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.