title: The frequency of blood-born viral infections in a population of multitransfused Brazilian patients.
abstract: The frequency of viral markers for hepatitis B (HBV) and C (HCV), human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) and human T-lymphotropic virus-1 (HTLV-1) was evaluated in 32 Brazilian beta-thalassemia multitransfused patients. Additionally the serum concentrations of ferritin and alanine aspartate transaminase (ALAT) were determined. The results show a high prevalence of markers of infection by HBV (25.0%) and HCV (46.8%) and a low prevalence of markers for HIV-1 and HTLV-1. No correlations were demonstrated between the presence of the hepatitis markers and the number of units transfused or the serum concentrations of ferritin and ALAT.
authors.affiliation: Regional Blood Center, School of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, Brazil.
authors.forename: D T
authors.initials: DT
authors.lastname: Covas
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Boturão Neto
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Zago
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D015490:HTLV-I Infections / Q000453:epidemiology; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000453:epidemiology; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D065227:Transfusion Reaction; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission; D017086:beta-Thalassemia / Q000097:blood*