| People with beta-thalassemia major are more likely to acquire blood-borne viral infections due to the need for frequent blood transfusions.
Of these viruses, hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) are of particular importance. In this study, the prevalence of HBV, HCV
and their risk factors in beta-thalassemia major patients in East Azerbaijan province was investigated. The study was descriptive cross-
sectional, and 116 beta-thalassemia major patients who received blood in Shahid Ghazi hospital and Children’s hospital in Tabriz city
were studied. Data were collected by a questionnaire, and blood samples of patients in terms of serum markers HCV-Ab, HBsAg and
HBs-Ab were analyzed by ELISA, and positive HCV-Ab results were confirmed by Real Time-PCR. Then using SPSS software version 22
and with the help of t-tests including Anova T-test, Man-Whitney U test, Independent sample t-test, chi-square and Fisher exact test,
Statistical studies were performed. Of the 116 patients studied, no HBsAg positive cases were found. Four patients (3.4%) were positive
for HCV-Ab, of which two patients (1.7%) became HCV-RNA positive after Real Time-PCR. There was a significant relationship between
HCV-Ab positive and HCV-RNA positive (P = 0.000), blood transfusion intervals (P = 0.043), number of injected blood units (P = 0.001)
and duration of blood transfusion (P = 0.006). The prevalence of HCV was lower in patients who started receiving blood after a blood
donor screening program. HCV is less prevalent in thalassemia patients in East Azerbaijan province than in some studies in the country
and various global statistics. After 1996, the prevalence of HCV in the thalassemia patient population has decreased significantly, and it
seems that HCV infections since 1996 have been associated with various factors such as people’s jobs, position, behaviour in society, etc.
© 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. |