In Jan 2020, the outbreak of the 2019 novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) in Wuhan, Hubei Province of China spread increasingly to other countries worldwide which WHO declared it as a public health emergency of international concern. Iran was included in the affected countries. Throat swab specimens were collected and tested by using real-time reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) kit targeting the E region for screening and RNA dependent RNA polymerase for confirmation. Conventional RT-PCR was conducted for the N region and the PCR products were sequenced by Sanger sequencing. The first seven cases of SARS-CoV-2 infections were identified in Qom, Iran. This report describes the clinical and epidemiological features of the first cases of SARS-CoV-2 confirmed in Iran. Future research should focus on finding the routes of transmission for this virus, including the possibility of transmission from foreign tourists to identify the possible origin of SARS-CoV-2 outbreak in Iran.

Background and objectives: Pterygium is a non-cancerous growth of conjunctival tissue that can extend onto the corneal surface. The presence of some oncogenic viruses in pterygium and the neoplastic nature of these lesions led us to the postulated involvement of the viruses in the etiology of pterygium. Given the association of human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) with ocular diseases, we aimed to investigate presence of this virus in pterygium. Methods: Fifty tissue specimens were collected from patients with pterygium who underwent pterygium surgery between February 2013 and May 2015. The specimens were tested by real-time PCR using Maxima SYBR Green/ROX qPCR Master Mix (2X) kit. Demographic and clinical data were collected and analyzed using SPSS software (version 18). Results: Six (12 %) specimens were positive for HHV-6 DNA. There was no statistically significant correlation between pterygium and presence of HHV-6. Conclusion: Based on the results, a direct association between HHV-6 and development of pterygium seems less probable, which suggests that other etiologic agents must be involved in the multistep process of the disease.

Aim: To investigate the epidemiology of human herpes virus type-6 (HHV-6) among hemodialysis (HD) patients. Materials & methods: DNA was extracted from plasma samples of 149 patients undergoing HD with no history of organ transplantation from 2011 to 2013. Presence of HHV-6 was investigated by using real-time PCR. Results: Diabetes (36.2%) and hypertension (28.8%) were two major factors for HD. The HHV-6 DNA was identified in eight patients (5.37%). Conclusion: This study is one of the few reports of HHV-6 infection among HD patients. In HD patient population, it is critical to improve standards of infection control in dialysis and expand treatment coverage. Furthermore, studies on clinical implications of HHV-6 infection in HD patients are crucial.

Many evidence suggests that long‐lasting infection can develop with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2). This occurrence has been widely described in immunocompromised individuals. In these patients, ineffective clearance of virus infection provides an opportunity for developing immune escape mutants. This study aimed to characterize SARS‐CoV‐2 intrahost evolution in five immunocompromised in comparison with five immunocompetent COVID‐19 patients during treatment. We performed next‐generation sequencing (NGS) on collected two oropharyngeal samples from immunocompromised and immunocompetent COVID‐19 patients before and after treatment. In this study, we detected alpha and delta variants of SARS‐CoV‐2. The most common substitutions in structural proteins in patients with alpha variant were S‐ΔY143‐144, A570D, D614G and D1118H, and N‐R203K and G204R, and in delta variant S‐T19R, G142D, E156G, 157‐158del, L452R, T478K, D614G, D950N and N‐D63G, R203M and D377Y were dominant. The common variations in nonstructural and accessory proteins including nsp3‐A488S, P1228L, nsp6‐T77A, nsp12‐P323L, G671S, nsp13‐P77L, NS3‐S26L, and NS7a‐T120I were detected. Also some infrequent substitutions were seen in immunocompromised and immunocompetent patients. After treatment, nsp12‐V166A was emerged as a remdesivir resistance and S‐L452M in a patient with common variable immunodeficiency. S‐E484Q was detected in a patient with acute lymphoma leukemia. This study showed the possibility of the genetic diversity and development of some new mutations in immunocompromised patients. Therefore, surveillance of these patients to characterize any new variants is necessary.

Background and Aims: Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) infection among pregnant women can cause a serious threat to the health of mother and fetus. Varicella is clearly less dangerous for immunized mothers. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of VZV antibody among women before marriage. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 300 women of childbearing age who referred to Yazd clinic for premarital screening. The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique was performed to detect antibodies against VZV. Demographic characteristics of each participant, including age, educational level, place of residence, family and self-reported history of chickenpox were collected by a questionnaire. Results: Mean age of women under study was 23±5.4 years that 223 participants (73.7%) were seropositive, and 77 cases (25.7%) were seronegative for anti-VZV antibody, while 2 (0.6%) subjects had an equivocal result. A higher immunity ratio (86.4%) was found among older women (33-44 years). Data showed no significant correlation between immunity to VZV and age, educational level, place of residence. A statistically significant association was found between the family history, self-reported history of chickenpox and immunity to VZV. The positive and negative predictive values for self-reported history of chicken pox were 97.1% and 81.1%, respectively. Conclusions: A significant number of women before marriage had no immunity to VZV. They are in risk of getting varicella, which can cause serious complications in mother and fetus. It, therefore, seems necessary to screen women of child-bearing age for anti-VZV antibody. In addition, vaccination against VZV in Iranian women before marriage can be a good recommendation.

Background and Objectives: Increase of mortality rates of gastric cancer in Iran and the world in recent years reveal necessity of studies on this disease. Here, hazard function for gastric cancer patients was estimated using Wavelet and Kernel methods and some related factors were assessed. Materials and Methods: Ninetyfive gastric cancer patients in Fayazbakhsh Hospital between 1996 and 2003 were studied. The effects of age of patients, gender, stage of disease and treatment method on patient's lifetime were assessed. For data analyses, survival analyses using Wavelet method and Log-rank test in R software were used. Results: Nearly 25.3% of patients were female. Fourteen percent had surgery treatment and the rest had treatment without surgery. Three fourths died and the rest were censored. Almost 9.5% of patients were in early stages of the disease, 53.7% in locally advance stage and 36.8% in metastatic stage. Hazard function estimation with the wavelet method showed significant difference for stages of disease (P<0.001) and did not reveal any significant difference for age, gender and treatment method. Conclusion: Only stage of disease had effects on hazard and most patients were diagnosed in late stages of disease, which is possibly one of the most reasons for high hazard rate and low survival. Therefore, it seems to be necessary a public education about symptoms of disease by media and regular tests and screening for early diagnosis.

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Background and Aims: Hepatitis C is a blood-borne virus that causes a liver inflammation. The prevalence of hepatitis C (HCV) in hemodialysis patients is more than the general population. Periodic screening of HCV in dialysis centers is necessary to control this viral disease. The aim of this study is the evaluation of HCV infection among hemodialysis patients living in Yazd province of Iran. Materials and Methods:In this cross sectional study, two milliliters blood sample has been taken from each of 188 hemodialysis patients. Third-generation enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and RT-PCR methods were carried out for detecting HCV antibody and viral genome in patient sera. Demographic and clinical characteristics of patients were collected and data were analyzed by Fisher's exact test and Mann-Whitney U test in SPSS software v.19. Results: HCV-Ab was positive in 12 hemodialysis patients. Eight cases had a history of blood transfusion and four patients had a history of kidney transplantation. Anyone didn't have a history of skin tattooing or intravenous drug usage. HCV-RNA was positive in 4 cases and was negative in 8 patients with positive HCV-Ab. Conclusion: HCV prevalence using ELISA and RT-PCR tests among hemodialysis patients living in Yazd provenance of Iran is 6.3% and 2.1%, respectively. Risk factors are the hemodialysis duration (p<0.001) and kidney transplantation (p=0.005).