Hepatitis B and C virus infections in Turkish children with haemophilia

Abstract

We examined 41 Turkish children with haemophilia for evidence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Hepatitis B surface antigen was found to be positive in 11 patients (26.8%) and HCV-specific antibody (anti-HCV) was detected in 10 (24.4%) patients. There was a close relationship of the number of transfusions of blood plasma to the presence of HCV specific antibody, but not to the serum markers of HBV infection. In countries where HBV infection is commonly seen and problems in transfusion practice continue, as in Turkey, children with haemophilia are at greater risk for HBV and HCV infections.

Inherited coagulation disorders in the northwestern region of Iran

“…Despite of inability to determine the infectious status of many cases of haemophilia A and B through their recording profiles, we could estimate that our HCV positive cases were fewer than those reported from the Gilan. Our data are similar to [8] and Turkey (Kocabas et al) [9]. This study showed lower occurrence of HBs-Ag positive cases compared with the similar reports from neighbouring countries.…”

High frequency of hepatitis B virus infection in patients with β‐thalassemia receiving multiple transfusions

“…The probability of contacting infection is further increased in developing countries like India where diagnosis of the underlying disease is late and blood‐banking practices are poorly developed. The frequency of HBsAg positivity in thalassemic children has been reported, variably, as 8–27% in studies from western countries [9,10] and 6–45% in those from India [11,12]. However, the true burden of HBV infection in the thalassemic population, using the more sensitive molecular‐detection methods, has not been estimated.…”

The seroprevalance of viral infections and their effects on immune system in turkish haemophiliac patients

“…The seropositivity of HBsAg was found to be 20-35% and that of anti-HCV 25-35% in haemophilic patients. Additionally, it was determined that CMV infection was common and HIV infection was very rare [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17]. HBsAg, anti-HBs and CMV positivities in haemophilic patients in this study are not different from Turkey means, but the ratios of anti-HCV and anti-HAV are higher than previous studies.…”