Despite importance of blood transfusion services as life saving procedures, some countries are unable to meet their national requirements for blood and blood components in a timely manner. Since establishment of Iran Blood Transfusion Organization (IBTO) in 1974 as an integral part of national health system, Iran has experienced a drastic improvement both in availability and safety of blood and...

BACKGROUND The transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) is an important cytokine with anti-inflammatory properties. OBJECTIVES The main purpose of this study was to compare the serum levels of TGF-β in a group of chronic HBV infected (CHB) patients as well as healthy individuals from South-East of Iran. PATIENTS AND METHODS Sixty patients with CHB as well as sixty healthy individuals were enrol...

    Background: Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) causes acute and chronic liver disease worldwide. HBV has eight genotypes (A to H) which is the reflection of its genome with their characteristic geographical distribution. Each genotype could have different pathogenic and therapeutic characteristics. There have been few records on HBV genotyping in general population from our region. This study aimed to...

BACKGROUND The hepatitis E virus (HEV) has a global distribution and is known to have caused large waterborne epidemics of icteric hepatitis. Transmission is generally via the fecal-oral route. Some reports have suggested parenteral transmission of HEV. Anti-HEV prevalence data among chronic hemodialysis (HD) patients are few and give conflicting results. METHODS This cross-sectional study wa...

BACKGROUND There are little data on the prevalence of serological markers of hepatitis B and hepatitis C viruses in pregnant women in Iran. OBJECTIVES This study was designed to determine the prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection among pregnant women in Lorestan, west of Iran. PATIENTS AND METHODS Serum samples of 827 pregnant women who lived in rural (...

BACKGROUND Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) are three important prevalent infections all over the world. The aim of this study was to determine seroprevalence of HIV, HBV and HCV infections and high risk behaviors in persons who referred to the behavioral counseling center of Hamadan, west of Iran. METHODS This was a cross-sectional study...

Hepatitis delta virus (HDV) infection results in more severe and even fulminant form of hepatitis B in co-infected cases. This study was designed to estimate the prevalence of anti-HDV positivity and the associated risk factors in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection in Zahedan (Iran). In this cross-sectional study a total of 440 consecutive patients with chronic hepatitis B virus ...

OBJECTIVE(S) Since each unit of Intravenous Immunoglobulin (IVIG) is obtained from different blood donors, blood-borne viral diseases is of high importance. We aimed at investigating the prevalence of various viral infections: Human T-cell Lymphotropic Virus Type 1 (HTLV-I), Hepatitis B (HBV), Hepatitis C (HCV), and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) among patients referred for IVIG therapy sec...

TTV is an unenveloped circular single-stranded DNA virus with a diameter of 30-32 nm that first was described in 1997 in Japan. TTV was detected in various populations without proven pathology, including blood donors and in patients with chronic HBV and HCV hepatitis. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of TTV DNA in Iranian patients with chronic hepatitis B and C. Viral TTV-D...

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and other blood borne viral infections like hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) are major health issues especially in young and growing population of developing countries. All around the globe correctional facilities are known as potential source of spreading such disease. During summer 2002, HIV, HCV antibodies, hepatitis B surface (HBs) antig...