مجله اپیدمیولوژی ایران (Jun 2009)

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

  • GH Hassanshahi,
  • M Kazemi Arababadi,
  • ER Zarandi,
  • M Moradi,
  • R Vazirinegad,
  • H Yousefi Darehdor,
  • SE Pourhosseini,
  • SMA Sajadi,
  • M Arasteh

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 5, no. 1
pp. 41 – 46

Abstract

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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.

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