Prevalence of HCVAb and HBsAg in Patients with Beta-thalassemia Major in Amirkola Thalassemia Center

Background and purpose: Beta-thalassemia major is a genetic disorder with known globin defect that leads to chronic hemolytic anemia. Due to the need for recurrent blood transfusion, the risk of infectious diseases such as hepatitis is higher in these patients. Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study recruited 518 patients with thalassemia major in Amirkola Thalassemia Center, 2013-2014 who were selected via census sampling. Patients' blood samples were analyzed for HBsAb, HBsAg, and HCVAb by ELISA test. Data were analyzed in SPSS V22. Results: The patients included 268 (51.7%) females and 250 (48.3%) males with the mean age of 27.93±9.88 years. The study showed that 5.79% of patients with thalassemia major were infected with HCV, including 11 (4.4%) males and 19 (7.1%) females and only one male patient was found to be HBsAg positive. Conclusion: The study showed lower incidence of hepatitis C compared to previous reports from Amirkola Thalassemia Center. In current study the prevalence of HBsAg was also found to be low.