title: Prevalence of HBV and HCV infection among multi-transfused Egyptian thalassemic patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Though regular blood transfusion improves the overall survival of patients with β-thalassemia, it carries a definite risk of infection with blood-borne viruses. The present study was carried out to estimate the real frequency of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) among Egyptian β-thalassemic patients, and determine the infection-associated risk factors in these patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  A prospective study conducted in a university hospital from January 2009 to January 2010.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two hundred patients with β-thalassemia major were enrolled in this study. Using enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent assay (ELISA), their sera were tested for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), antibody to hepatitis C core antigen (anti-HBc), and HCV antibody (HCV Ab). The positive HCV Ab results were confirmed by second-generation recombinant immunoblot assay (RIBA).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The study sample consisted of 111 males and 89 females, with a median age of 13 years. Eighty-one (40.5%) patients were HCV Ab positive by ELISA and 39 (19.5) were anti-HCV positive by RIBA; 58 (29.0%) were HBsAg positive and 13 (6.5%) were anti-HBC positive. Older age, an increased number of transfusion units, and HBsAg seropositivity were significantly associated with a higher prevalence of HCV and HBV.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The prevalence of HCV and HBV infections are very high among Egyptian β-thalassemic patients, which calls for a critical look into the prevailing transfusion practices and adoption of stricter donor selection criteria to decrease the incidence rate of both HCV and HBV infections effectively. Furthermore, there is a compressing need for the use of more specific and sensitive methods for HCV testing in Mansoura university hospitals.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Pediatrics, Mansoura School of Medicine, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt. aK_mans@yahoo.com
authors.forename: A K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Mansour
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Aly
authors.forename: S Y
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Abdelrazek
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Elghannam
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Abdelaziz
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Shahine
authors.forename: N M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Elmenshawy
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Darwish
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D046148:Donor Selection / Q000592:standards; D004534:Egypt / Q000453:epidemiology; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D065227:Transfusion Reaction; D055815:Young Adult; D017086:beta-Thalassemia / Q000628:therapy*