Epidemiological Distribution and Genotype Characterization of the Hepatitis C Virus Among HIV Patients in Kashan, Iran

Abstract

BackgroundParenteral transmission is a common route of transmission for both human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV); therefore, hepatitis C viral infection is highly prevalent among people infected with HIV.ObjectivesThis study was designed to examine the epidemiology and describe the clinical manifestation as well as the HCV genotypes in patients from the city of Kashan, Iran, who are coinfected with HIV and HCV.Patients and MethodsThis descriptive study was conducted in 2014 in the city of Kashan. The population consisted of all the HIV-infected patients who were referred to the behavioral counseling center and jail in Kashan. Demographic information and HCV- and HIV-related risk behaviors were obtained through the use of an interviewer-assisted questionnaire. After the participants gave written informed consent to participate, 10 cc venous blood samples were collected. The serum samples were screened for HCV infection using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). In the event of a positive test for HCV, the RNA was then amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification. The HCV subtypes were determined via the direct sequencing of the amplicons. All data analysis was performed using SPSS version 16.0 for the descriptive statistics, and then the chi-square test and Pearson coefficient were performed for additional analysis.ResultsThe results of the analysis indicated that 54 (85%) of the 63 HIV-infected patients were males who were also HCV positive and who had less than a high school level education. There was a significant association between HCV infection and both occupation (P < 0.0001) and level of education (P < 0.05). All the HIV/HCV coinfected cases had a history of illicit drug use, while 92.6% had a history of imprisonment and 40.7% had high risk sexual contacts. Overall, genotype 1 was found in 75.9% of HCV patients, while genotype 3 was found in 24.1%. Some 94.4% of HCV patients had subtype A. There were no clinical symptoms of chronic hepatitis C.ConclusionsThe majority of HIV-infected persons in the city of Kashan were also HCV positive. Genotype 1 was the predominant type, alongside subtype A. Considering the high prevalence of HCV among the HIV-infected persons, as well as the impact of occupation, education, illicit drug use, and imprisonment on the incidence of both infections, health policy makers must introduce health programs and plans to reduce the prevalence of these infections.

Clinical and Epidemiological Profile of Pandemic Influenza A H1N1, H3N2, and Type B in the Southeast of Caspian Sea, Iran

“…Also, Li et al in 2011 in a their study reported that female subjects with influenza A are higher than males (20). Also, this point was reported by other researchers (21)(22)(23). And in Cao et al's study, male subjects were higher, however, Caini et al presented that sexes were equally distributed (15).…”

Presence of different hepatitis C virus genotypes in plasma and peripheral blood mononuclear cell samples of Iranian patients with HIV infection

“…Perhaps for this reason the rate of HIV/HCV co‐infection is lower in the current research (42.2%) than in previous studies . However, in the present study, 59 (42.1%) studied participants were IVDUs, and 52 (83.9%) of these patients were also anti‐HCV Abs positive, that is in agreement with previous reports from Iran . The high rate of HCV co‐infection in HIV patients, was also exemplified in other populations …”

“…In this study, 55 (39.3%) of the HIV‐infected patients had a history of unprotected sex and were presumably infected with HIV through sexual intercourse. Perhaps for this reason the rate of HIV/HCV co‐infection is lower in the current research (42.2%) than in previous studies . However, in the present study, 59 (42.1%) studied participants were IVDUs, and 52 (83.9%) of these patients were also anti‐HCV Abs positive, that is in agreement with previous reports from Iran .…”

“…Nearly 2 278 400 persons have HIV/HCV co‐infection in the world; about 62% of these are people who inject drugs (PWID) . The various studies showed that more than 70‐85% of Iranian HIV‐positive PWIDs were co‐infected with HCV . It is notable that the number of intravenous drug users (IVDUs) in some countries (such as Turkey) is low, and as a result HIV/HCV co‐infection in these communities is limited .…”

“…HCV genotyping was done on the plasma specimens of HIV/HCV co‐infected patients in various countries, for instance it has been done in Brazilians [1a (47.2%), 1b (11.1%), and 3a (41.7%)], in Indians [1b (51.1%), 1a (17.7%), 3a (22.2%), and 3b (8.8%)], and in Iranians [1a (75.9%), 3a (18.5%), 3b (5.6%)] . Considering the various reports obtained from around the world, it seems that further investigation on this field with a large study population is needed to clarify this point.…”