Frequency distribution and risk factors of hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus infections among thalassemia patients: a regional study

Abstract

Background Thalassemia is a group of inherited hematological disorders caused by mutation in globin’s genes. Regular blood transfusion lengthens the life of thalassemia patients but it carries a definite risk of the infections of blood-borne diseases. Aim/Objective The current study was carried out for the frequency distributions and risk factors of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections among thalassemia patients in Hazara regions, Pakistan. Methods A total of 324 enrolled thalassemia major patients were diagnosed in five different centers of Hazara regions. The study participants were screened for HBV and HCV using the immunochromatographic techniques test and real-time PCR for immunochromatographic technique-positive specimens. Results Out of the 324 major thalassemia patients, 24 (7.41%) were diagnosed with HBV and HCV infections. In total, 206 were male patients and the rate of HBV and HCV infections was 0.97% (two patients) and 3.88% (eight patients), respectively. Similarly, 118 were female patients and the rate of HBV-positive patients was 3.39% (four patients) and HCV was 8.47% (10 patients). The results also showed that 50% of HBV and HCV infections were found in the age group of 26–30 years, while 1.81% was found in the age group of 11–15 years. The positive HBV and HCV samples were also verified with the band size of 242 and 227 bp, respectively. Conclusion Thus, to reduce the incidence of HBV and HCV in thalassemia patients, we must call for critical look on the transfusion practices as well as adoption of stricter donor selection.

Prevalence of Transfusion Transmissible Infections in Beta-Thalassemia Major Patients in Pakistan: A Systemic Review

“…Pakistan has the second-highest number of HCV cases in the world (>10 million), with a prevalence of 5.9% in the general population [31]. Our results showed a seroprevalence of 26%, though, a variable range of HCV prevalence has been reported in prior studies (5.5% to 68.2%) [19,22,[26][27][28][29][30]. Current prevalence of HCV in TM patients is 13.6% in Iran, 14.7% in Bangladesh and 11-30% in India [32][33][34].…”

“…Our results showed HBV is the second most common TTI in TM patients with a prevalence of 3.13%, while its reported seroprevalence ranged from 0.66% to 7.4% [19,22,[26][27][28][29][30]. Our findings were similar to the majority of studies [19,22,[26][27][28][29][30], but other studies reported variable results due to variations in the disease prevalence in various regions of the world and non-standardized methods of transfusion in some centers due to lack of facilities. The prevalence of HBV is found to be lower than HCV is likely due to higher rates of immunization against HBV.…”

The prevalence of hepatitis C virus infection in β-thalassemia patients in Pakistan: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Three provinces of Pakistan were represented in the included studies: eight were conducted in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa [18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25], 11 were conducted in Punjab [26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36] and six were conducted in Sindh [37][38][39][40][41][42]. One study was conducted both in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa [43] while one was conducted [25]. After reviewing the methodological quality of the studies, 6 were deemed to be of good quality, 21 of medium quality, and no article was found with poor quality.…”

The prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in β-thalassemia patients in Pakistan: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…The articles were published between January 1995 and December 2018 while the period of subject inclusion was from June 1991 to September 2017. Three provinces of Pakistan were represented in the included studies: eight were conducted in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 18-25 11 were conducted in Punjab 26-36 and six were conducted in Sindh. 37-42 One study was conducted both in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 43 while one was conducted in Punjab and Sindh.…”

“…44 Most of the included studies (20 out of 27) reported HCV prevalence based on the results of the ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) test. 17-20, 22, 25, 26, 28-35, 40-43 Only three studies reported the confirmation of HCV infection by RNA test. 21, 24, 39 Four studies did not report the type of assay used for HCV antibody reactivity testing.…”