Prevalence of hepatitis B and C in thalassemic patients and its relation with type of thalassemia, frequency of blood transfusion, and spleen status

Background: Thalassemia is one of the most common inherited diseases; it is an inherited impairment of hemoglobin production, in which there is partial or complete failure of the synthesis of globin chain. Hepatitis B and hepatitis C had emerged as a major cause of end-stage liver disease. Both the viruses are transfusion-transmitted disease. Objective: The objective of the study is to assess the prevalence of hepatitis B and C viruses in thalassemic patients and its relation with type of thalassemia, blood transfusion, and spleen status. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 100 multitransfused thalassemic patients for 2 months from November 1, 2016, to January 1, 2017. Test for HBsAg., HBcAb. IgG and IgM for screening of hepatitis B virus (HBV). HBcAb. by VIDAS method and confirmation by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction for hepatitis C virus (HCV) was done. There is no family history of HBV and HCV infection nor vaccination history of the studied population. Results: Twelve (12%) patients had a positive HBcAb, while 3 (3%) had HBsAg positivity, higher percentage of HCV-infected patients (91%) received regular every 1-month blood transfusion, 50% of hepatitis C patients had splenomegaly, and 20.7% had splenectomy. Conclusion: Good and sensitive screening tests and stringent donor selection processes are required for the better control of this transfusion-transmitted infection among thalassemic patients.