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Hepatitis B virus DNA level Among the Seropositive Afghan Immigrants, Southern Iran.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Diagnosis and control programs for infectious diseases among immigrants are the most important aspects of epidemiological studies for both origin and destination countries. Data about hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection among the Afghan immigrants in Iran is limited. OBJECTIVES:To the best of HBV treatment and prevention in Afghan immigrants in Iran, the present study was conducted to determine the virus DNA level, and the frequency of respective hepatitis B risk factors among the respective seropositive patients in Fars province, southern Iran. PATIENTS AND METHODS:A total of 64 HBsAg positive Afghan immigrants including 47 (73.4%) men and 17 (26.6%) women, with ages ranging between 15 and 74 years (mean ± standard deviation: 37.69 ± 15.02 years) participated in this study. From those, whole blood sample were collected and DNAs were extracted from the sera and analyzed by TaqMan real-time PCR assay with a set of primers and probe amplified core protein region of HBV genome. RESULTS:HBV DNA was detected in a total of 51/64 (79.7 %) serum samples; 37 (72.5%) male and 14 (27.5%) female. The copy number of HBV DNA ranged from 5 × 10(2) to 8.49 × 10(8) copies/mL in the serum samples; median 3.8 × 10(4) copies/mL. Demographic data and risk factors were also evaluated. The comparison of viral loads between the age groups and sex indicated no significant correlation (P > 0.05). However, the serum HBV DNA level significantly decreased in the treated patient group (P = 0.03). There was no significant difference in medicine usage between the two sexes in the study population (P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS:Considering the results, determining the HBV DNA load and evaluation of treatment response can help to reduce the costs of diagnosis and treatment procedures in such patients, as well as, decreasing the risk of HBV transmission in immigrant Afghan population. Moreover, HBV screening strategies in country border entrances among immigrant should be performed. Moreover, free vaccination and treatment programs, and improving the level of HBV knowledge among Afghan immigrants in Iran is highly recommended.

SUBMITTER: Behzadi MA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4138643 | biostudies-literature | 2014 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Hepatitis B virus DNA level Among the Seropositive Afghan Immigrants, Southern Iran.

Behzadi Mohammad Amin MA Ziyaeyan Mazyar M Asaei Sadaf S

Jundishapur journal of microbiology 20140501 5

<h4>Background</h4>Diagnosis and control programs for infectious diseases among immigrants are the most important aspects of epidemiological studies for both origin and destination countries. Data about hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection among the Afghan immigrants in Iran is limited.<h4>Objectives</h4>To the best of HBV treatment and prevention in Afghan immigrants in Iran, the present study was conducted to determine the virus DNA level, and the frequency of respective hepatitis B risk factors ...[more]

PMID: 25147713

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Project description:BACKGROUND:Street children are forced to spend a lot of time away from their homes and some of them do not have homes at all, due to economic and family problems, which makes them exposed to many health problems, such as the hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Iran, like many other countries in the world, experiences the burden of street children, however, the rate of HCV among street children is virtually unknown. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of HCV among street children in Iran. MAIN BODY:This systematic review and meta-analysis was performed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. The study protocol of this review was registered in PROSPERO under identification term CRD42018082336. A comprehensive literature search was conducted to identify published studies reporting on the prevalence of HCV among street children in Iran. Several international scholarly databases, including Web of Science, PubMed®/MEDLINE®, Embase, Scopus®, Google Scholar and Directory of Open Access Journals, as well as Iranian databases such as MagIran and Barakathns were searched. Studies published between 1988 and December 2017 with any of the following keywords were selected: (street OR homeless OR labour) AND (children OR child OR infant) AND (hepatitis C OR hepatitis C virus OR HCV OR viral hepatitis OR hepatitis OR hepacivirus) AND Iran. Moreover, a grey literature search was performed in order to obtain other potentially relevant studies. The search was carried out without any language restrictions. Four studies, surveying a total of 1691 street children, conducted between 2006 and 2017 were found to be eligible for inclusion in the review and therefore analysed. Three studies were conducted in Tehran and one in Isfahan. The prevalence of HCV among street children in Iran was found to be high, at 2.4% (95% CI: 1.8-3.3). CONCLUSIONS:Since the prevalence of HCV among street children in Iran is quite high, health decision- and policy-makers should pay more attention to street children and widen support channels, both social and economic. Further studies should be conducted among street children in different cities of Iran to add to the knowledge base of HCV among street children in the country. The health system should provide facilities for street children to be screened to quickly diagnose illnesses and prevent them from developing complications.

Project description:IntroductionFor nearly three decades, the two neighboring countries of Iran and Pakistan hosted millions of Afghans. Today, Afghans still represent the largest group of refugees in the world. This feature has greatly influenced provision of health care for this population. Due to a paucity of research on the health status of Afghan refugees in Iran, this study aim to make a vista on the pattern of different common diseases among Afghan refugees in Iran and use it as an index for performance evaluation of future health services to them.MethodsThis is a retrospective cross sectional study, in which we collected the demographic and medical data between 2005 and 2010 from referrals to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) offices in Iran. We also considered a comparative review of the burden of disease estimates by the World Health Organization (WHO) for Afghanistan and Iran.ResultsTotal numbers of referrals were 23,152 with 52.6% Female and 47.66% male. 29% were 0-14 years of age, 54% were 15-59, and 17% were 60+. The most common health referral for females and males (0-14) was perinatal diseases (15.16%, 15.2%, respectively). In the females (15-59) it was ophthalmic diseases (13.65%), and for males it was nephropathies (21.4%), and in both sexes (60+) age range it was ophthalmic diseases (21.3%, 19.9%, respectively). The largest ethnic group of afghan refugees in this study was Hazara (55%) followed by Tajik (14%), Fars (12%), Sadat (9%), and 10% others. Ophthalmic diseases were the major cause of referrals by Hazara, Tajik, Fars, and Sadat groups with 26%, 20%, 26%, and 27% respectively. Referrals by pashtun group were mostly for neoplasms (17%), among Uzbek group it was nephropathies (26%), and in Baluch group Hematopoietic disorders (25%).ConclusionThese data indicate higher referral rate for women 15-59 years of old and people in 60+ with ophthalmic diseases, neoplasms, and nephropathies. Even given certain intrinsic limitations of such a study, we believe these unique findings are worth further explanation. This implies the need for public health researchers to pursue prospective studies in these areas.

Dataset Information

Hepatitis B virus DNA level Among the Seropositive Afghan Immigrants, Southern Iran.

Publications

Hepatitis B virus DNA level Among the Seropositive Afghan Immigrants, Southern Iran.

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