Prevalence of Hepatitis G Virus and Co-Infection with Hepatitis B Virus and Hepatitis C Virus Among Hemodialysis Patients in Ahvaz, Iran

Background: Patients on hemodialysis are at a high-risk for acquiring blood-borne infections, such as hepatitis G, hepatitis C, and hepatitis B viruses. The aim of this investigation was to determine the prevalence of HGV infection among patients on hemodialysis and its co-infection with hepatitis C and B viruses in Ahvaz. Methods: Blood samples were collected from patients on hemodialysis during January to July, 2016. RNAs were extracted from sera and cDNA was prepared using the kit. The nested-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequencing of positive samples were carried out to determine hepatitis G virus genotypes. In addition, to evaluate the co-infection of HGV with hepatitis C and hepatitis B virus infections, the sera of all the individuals were tested for hepatitis C virus antibody and HBs-Ag by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) assay. Results: The HGV RNA was found in 10% of the patients with dominant genotype 2a. About 2% of the patients on hemodialysis were co-infected with hepatitis C virus while 1% of them was co-infected with hepatitis B virus. The statistical analysis revealed that there was a significant correlation (P 0.01) between duration of the hemodialysis process and hepatitis G virus infectivity. Conclusions: The present study showed that patients, who used the hemodialysis devices in this city, were infected with Hepatitis G, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C viruses. The data indicates that duration of dialysis is significantly related to infection of Hepatitis G virus. Therefore, it is critical to control the sterility of these equipment for intercepting cross-infectivity.