Prevalence of HBsAg, HCV and HIV Antibodies Among Infertile Couples in Ahvaz, South-West Iran

Background: Without doubt the problem of infertility is important not just for the individual couple, but in many cases it has a wider effect on human life which may lead to social disorganization if not addressed in the future if not addressed in the future. Objectives: Since the screening of the hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), hepatitis C virus (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) antibodies of infertile couples has not been studied in our area; this study was conducted to determine the prevalence of HBsAg, HCV HIV antibodies among infertile couples. Patients and Methods: This was a retrospective cross sectional study and its setting was an in vitro fertilization (IVF) ward. The population study included all of the couples (712) admitted to the infertility center of Ahvaz Imam Khomeini Hospital in 2007-2008 (12 month period). Intervention was an analysis of the data containing the patients’ demographic characteristics and included their HBsAg, HCV and HIV serostatus, which were routinely screened during this period. The main outcome measure was the prevalence of HBsAg, HCV and HIV antibodies among the infertile couples referred to the infertility center. Results: The age range of the men and women was 18 to 62 years and 16 to 46 years re- spectively. 11 (0. 77 %) of the infertile couples, including 6 (0. 8) women and 5 (0. 7%) men were HBsAg positive. 9 (0. 63 %) infertile couples, 6 (0. 8) women and 3 (0. 4%) men were HCV antibody positive. No cases of HIV were observed in this study. Conclusions: Although the frequencies of hepatitis B and C infections found in this study were small, it still seems logical from the statistical analysis to screen for both vi- ruses as well as for HIV, while a future study using a larger sample size of infertile couples is also recommended.