Hepatitis C Virus Prevalence in Haemodialysis Patients From Three Centers in Baghdad, Iraq: A Survey By Polymerase Chain Reaction and Serological Methods

Abstract

Abstract:Hepatitis C virus infection is a major health problem among haemodialysis patients in developing countries. Nosocomial transmission of HCV infection was a considerable route, particularly during the outbreaks of infection. To compare serological and molecular methods for detection of HCV infection serum samples were screened for anti-HCV antibodies using a fourth generation enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and positive samples were confirmed by immunoblot assay. All seropositive and seronegative samples were screened for the presence of HCV-RNA by using reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR). The overall prevalence was (41.10%) in the three centers (range: 26.05% to 62.82%) with higher prevalence in Al-Kadhimiya Teaching Hospital. All seropositive samples were tested by reverse transcriptase PCR, and 24/92 (26.09%) of confirmed samples were found to contain HCV-RNA. Additionally, 2/5 (40%) of immunoblot-indeterminate and 1/3 (33.33%) of immunoblot-negative samples were also found to be HCV-RNA positive. Also all seronegative samples were screened for the presence of HCV-RNA by using pooling strategy and 2/136 (1.47%) of anti-HCV negative samples were found to be HCV-RNA positive. Our data emphasize the need for stricter adherence to infection control measures in haemodialysis centers and reinforce the importance of screening by both PCR and serological methods at regular intervals to identify all HCV-infected patients.

Frequency of Hepatitis C Virus Genotypes /Subtypes Association With Response to Therapy in a Sample of HCV Infected Iraqi Patients

“…The rate of HCV genotypes found in this study is similar to these reported from different Middle East countries like Saudi Arabia and Lebanon where genotype 4 is the most common (14) . However, the results of this study are close, but not similar to that shown by previous studies conducted in Iraq; A study conducted in 2012 (15) , found that genotype 1 is slightly more common than genotype 4 in that genotype 4 was 41.38%while genotype 1 was 48% of cases. Another study in Iraq, Al-Kubaisy et al, (16) reported that genotype 1 was 49% and genotype 4 was 35.4% of thalassemic Iraqi children.…”

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“…Patients undergoing long-term hemodialysis are particularly vulnerable to parenterally transmitted agents, making them an important population for studying the clinical and epidemiological implications of newly discovered agents (Forns, 1999). Hepatotropic or other hepatitis-associated viruses, such as hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), torque teno virus (TTV), SEN Virus (SENV), and hepatitis G virus (HGV) are responsible for some of the most common viral infections in hemodialysis patients (Forns, 1999;Ozdarendeli et al, 2005;Abd El-Hady et al, 2006;Abdullah et al, 2012;Abdullah et al, 2014;Khudair et al, 2019).…”

Molecular Analysis of Human Pegivirus (GBV-C) Infecting Hemodialysis Patients in Baghdad, Iraq: A Single Center Study

“…Patients undergoing long-term hemodialysis are particularly vulnerable to parenterally transmitted agents, making them an important population for studying the clinical and epidemiological implications of newly discovered agents (Forns, 1999). Hepatotropic or other hepatitis-associated viruses, such as hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), torque teno virus (TTV), SEN Virus (SENV), and hepatitis G virus (HGV) are responsible for some of the most common viral infections in hemodialysis patients (Forns, 1999;Ozdarendeli et al, 2005;Abd El-Hady et al, 2006;Abdullah et al, 2012;Abdullah et al, 2014;Khudair et al, 2019).…”