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A B S T R A C TBackground: There are little data on the prevalence of serological markers of hepatitis B and hepatitis C viruses in pregnant women in Iran.

BackgroundThere are little data on the prevalence of serological markers of hepatitis B and hepatitis C viruses in pregnant women in Iran.ObjectivesThis 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 MethodsSerum samples of 827 pregnant women who lived in rural (36.8%) and urban areas (63.2%) of Lorestan were collected during 2007-2008. Data were obtained through questionnaires. Samples were first screened for anti-HCV and anti-HBc by ELISA. Those who were positive for anti-HBc were tested for HBsAg.ResultsAnti-HBc was found in 28 of 827 pregnant women (overall prevalence, 3.4%; 14 of 523 in urban areas, 2.7%; 14 of 304 in rural areas, 4.6%). Of the 28 positive samples, 6(0.7%) were positive for HBs-Ag. Only 2 samples (0.2%) were anti-HCV-positive.ConclusionsThese results underscore the need for prenatal screening for HBV infection in pregnant women and treatment of newborns from HBsAg-positive mothers.More studies are needed to identify risk factors of HCV infection and highlight the importance of HCV screening and treatment programs.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) has infected approximately 170 million people worldwide. While the seroprevalence of anti-HCV antibody among Iranian blood donors is 0.13%, HCV infection is prevalent in 59-80% of Iranian injecting drug users. One hundred seventy-eight anti-HCV positive patients were referred to the Gastroenterology Department at the Taleghani Hospital (Tehran, Iran) between June 2007 and June 2012. Out of 178 samples, 142 were positive for HCV-RNA. HCV subtypes were determined using phylogenetic analysis of the NS5B or 5'UTR/core regions. Of 142 viremic patients, 71 (50%) were infected with HCV subtype 1a, 43 (30.3%) with subtype 3a, 20 (14.1%) with subtype 1b, 3 (2.1%) with subtype 4d, 2 (1.4%) with subtype 4a, 1 (0.7%) with subtype 2b, and 1 (0.7%) with subtype 6a. Interestingly, genetic analysis of a sub-genomic fragment from one patient identified a non-subtypeable HCV genotype-3 strain. There was a significant association between HCV subtype and a history of injecting drug use (P = 0.003). Subtype 3a was predominant among patients with such a history. Injecting drug use was associated with younger age (P < 0.001). HCV subtype was also significantly associated with a history of upper gastrointestinal endoscopy (P = 0.02). Subtype 1a was more frequent among patients with such a history. In addition, history of upper gastrointestinal endoscopy was significantly associated with older age (P = 0.002). In conclusion, while HCV subtype 1a is predominant among infected Iranian individuals, subtype 3a is predominant among Iranian injecting drug users.

Backgroundchronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a multifactorial disease that can result in serious clinical complications. Host genetic background especially the genes that encode immunologic factors like INF-γ and its receptor (IFN-γ R) are critical in the pathogenesis of infection.ObjectivesThe current study aimed to investigate the association between two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at positions -611 and -56 within the promoter region of gamma interferon receptor1 gene (IFN-γ R1) and chronic HBV infection.Materials and MethodsGenomic DNA from peripheral blood samples of 200 chronically HBV infected patients and 200 healthy blood donors, as controls, were collected and genomic DNA was extracted by phenol-chloroform method and DNA analysis genotype identification was performed by PCR-RFLP.ResultsThe results indicated that both SNP’s frequency had a significant difference in the patient and control groups. At position -56, TT genotype was associated with patient group and P value was 0.002 and at position -611, GG genotype was further observed in control group and P value was 0.006.ConclusionsPresence of G allele at position -611 within promoter of IFN-γ R1 gene in the enrolled population for the study was related to lower risk of disease, and presence of T allele at position -56 was also related to susceptibility to chronic HBV infection. Men had higher frequency of chronic HBV infection, which might be the result of high risk behavior.