Author/Authors :
Taghi Shakeri, Mohammad Department of Biostatistics - Public Health School - Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, IR Iran , Foghanian, Bahareh Microbiology and Virology Research Center - Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, IR Iran , Nomani, Hosein Microbiology and Virology Research Center - Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, IR Iran , Ghayour-Mobarhan, Majid Biochemistry of Nutritional Research Center - Faculty of Medicine - Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, IR Iran , Nabavinia, Maryam Sadat 4 Department of Biotechnology - School of Pharmacy - Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, IR Iran , Rostami, Sina Department of Biology - Faculty of Sciences - Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, IR Iran , Ahadi, Mitra Department of Internal Medicine - Ghaem Hospital - Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, IR Iran , Meshkat, Zahra Women’s Health Research Center - Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, IR Iran
Abstract :
Background: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is the most common and serious liver infection in the world. An estimated 350 million people
are chronic carriers of this virus, of whom, more than 620,000 die from liver-related diseases annually. Due to the vaccination program,
prevalence of HBV, particularly among the younger generation, is reported to have declined in recent years in Iran. Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of HBV infection in Mashhad, North-East of Iran. Patients and Methods: Three thousand one hundred and ninety eight (3198) individuals living in Mashhad were studied using cluster
sampling method. HBV infection was determined by HBsAg ELISA commercial kit. Positive results were subjected for PCR using HBV-specific
primers. HBeAg, HBeAb, and HBcAb-IgM ELISA tests were performed for HBsAg-positive samples. Results: Patients’ age ranged from 15 to 65 years (Mean = 35.54 ± 14.85). Thirty four (1.0%) of the subjects were positive for HBsAg, of whom, 2.9
% (1 of 34 cases) were also positive in PCR-based screening. ELISA tests for HBeAg, HBeAb, and HBcAb IgM were positive in one (2.9 %), 27 (79.4%)
and one (2.9 %) cases, respectively. Conclusions: According to our results, HBsAg was positive in 0.53 of the total population. The prevalence of HBV infection was seemingly low
in Mashhad; however, an upward trend was observed in older subjects probably due to successful HBV vaccination coverage in the younger
generation. Continuous surveillance and periodic population-based studies are essential to monitor the prevalence of HBV infection in
Mashhad in the future.
