title: Hepatitis B/C virus co-infection in Iran: a seroepidemiological study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  As hepatitis B and C virus have the same transmission routes, dual infection may occur. The aim of this study was to determine the seroprevalence of HCV in HBsAg-positive subjects.
  
  
  METHODS
  139 HBsAg-positive subjects were enrolled in the study. Serum samples were tested using ELISA method for anti-HCV antibodies. Chi-square and Fisher's exact tests were used to compare the proportions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 68 (48.9%) males and 71 (51.1%) females. The mean age was 41.89+/-11.30 years. One case was excluded because of inadequate blood sampling. Anti-HCV antibody was positive in 17 (12.3%) of the 138 remaining subjects. Seropositivity of HCV was similar between female and male patients (p=0.69).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The seroprevalence of co-infection with hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus in our study was higher than such reports from some countries (Italy), but was in line with worldwide prevalence (>10%).
authors: Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Golestan Research Center, Iran. sh_semnani@yahoo.com
authors: Shahryar
authors: S
authors: Semnani
authors: Gholamreza
authors: G
authors: Roshandel
authors: Nafiseh
authors: N
authors: Abdolahi
authors: Sima
authors: S
authors: Besharat
authors: Abbas-Ali
authors: AA
authors: Keshtkar
authors: Hamidreza
authors: H
authors: Joshaghani
authors: Abdolvahab
authors: A
authors: Moradi
authors: Khodaberdi
authors: K
authors: Kalavi
authors: Ali
authors: A
authors: Jabbari
authors: Mohammad Javad
authors: MJ
authors: Kabir
authors: Seyed Ahmad
authors: SA
authors: Hosseini
authors: Seyed Mehdi
authors: SM
authors: Sedaqat
authors: Ahmad
authors: A
authors: Danesh
authors: Danyal
authors: D
authors: Roshandel
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000276:immunology; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006515:Hepatitis B virus / Q000276:immunology; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012494:Sampling Studies; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral