Abstract

Background: The hepatitis C virus (HCV) and hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections are significant concerns in patients with inherited disorders of hemoglobin (IDH). Objectives: This study aimed to assess the prevalence of HCV and HBV infections in a large cohort of patients with IDH in Sistan and Baluchistan province, Iran. Methods: In this retrospective study, 2391 patients with IDH in Sistan and Baluchistan were enrolled. The anti-HCV antibody (HCV Ab) and hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) were assessed using ELISA. Results: A total of 2387 patients with a mean age of 12.7 years were included in the final analysis. Most of the patients were residents of Zahedan city (28.1) and suffered beta-thalassemia major (99.2). The prevalence of HCV Ab was 5.87 (95 CI = 5.0-6.89) and HBsAg was detected in 0.29 (95 CI = 0.14-0.6) of the patients. The prevalence of HCV Ab was associated with the age of patients, and there was a great difference in the prevalence of HCV Ab between patients with IDH who born before and after 1996 (17.2 vs. 5.1; P < 0.05). Among 101 patients with positive results for HCV Ab who were tested for HCV RNA, 53 (52.5; 95 CI = 42.8-61.9) had HCV RNA in their serum samples. Moreover, 40 patients had results for HCV genotyping including 29 (72.5) HCV genotype 3 and 11 (27.5) HCV genotype 1. Conclusions: Hepatitis C had a high seroprevalence of 5.87 in patients with IDH in Sistan and Baluchistan while hepatitis B had a low seroprevalence of 0.29 that is unusual in a region with > 3 prevalence of hepatitis B in the general population.