Hepatitis Viruses B and D and Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infections in Hemodialysis Patients in the South of Iran: Prevalence and Genotypes.
BACKGROUND
Hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis D virus (HDV), and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are transmitted by blood transfusion. Thus, hemodialysis (HD) patients are more prone to become the carriers of these infections due to their treatment demands.


OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of HBV and HIV infections among HD patients in Bandar Abbas, Iran, 2015.


METHODS
A total of 153 patients with chronic renal failure undergoing HD at Shahid Mohammadi hospital in Bandar Abbas were examined for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), anti- hepatitis C virus, and anti-HIV over a period of 2 months. Thereafter, all of the specimens were evaluated for HBV-DNA, HDV-RNA and HIV-RNA using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and further techniques. All statistical analyses were carried out using SPSS version 12 for Windows with the t-test and chi-square (χ(2)) test.


RESULTS
Both kinds of assay determined that nine (5.88%) patients were HBV positive (HBsAg-positive), whereas no HIV- and HDV-positive patients were diagnosed. All of the diagnosed HBV samples belonged to genotype D; the prevalence of HBV is associated with age, duration of HD, history of blood transfusion, and using shared HD devices.


CONCLUSIONS
In conclusion, the prevalence of HBV infection was low in the south of Iran, but genotype D represented the major HBV genotype in this population. Among the variables, age, duration of HD, history of blood transfusion, and using shared HD devices influenced the prevalence of HBV among HD patients.
Department of Microbiology, Jahrom Branch, Islamic Azad University, Jahrom, IR Iran.
Fahime
F
Bahri
Department of Virology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IR Iran.
Ali
A
Kargar Kheirabad
Infectious and Tropical Disease Research Center, Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Bandar Abbas, IR Iran.
Iman
I
Ghasemzadeh
Infectious and Tropical Disease Research Center, Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Bandar Abbas, IR Iran.
Saeed
S
Shoja
Molecular Medicine Research Center, Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Bandar Abbas, IR Iran.
Hamed
H
Gouklani
Hemodialysis; Hepatitis B Virus; Hepatitis D Virus; Human Immunodeficiency Virus