Authors : Arwa Abass Al-Khaffajy and Abdulrhem Thonnon Younis Al-Ghazal
Abstract: Hepatitis C virus regards as one of the most important challenges in present era because of its increasing infection all over the world. Infection with HCV causes severe complications end up with shortage in liver functions, cancer and death. The aim of this study is to determine the rate of HCV antibodies prevalence in thalassemia patients and other hemoglobinopathiesin Duhok City, Iraq. About 190 blood samples were collected at December 2015-August 2016 from Thalassemia Unit in Golan Hospital, Aqra, Duhok, Iraq. Chemical immunofluorescence technique was used to detect the antibodies and antigens for HCV. The positive samples were retested as additional confirmation to the results. The results revealed that the total rate of HCV prevalence reached 15.26% (29 from 190) but in patients with thalassemia the ratio was 11.05% (21 from 117). For age groups, the highest rate of infection (65.5%) was in patients with age ranged between 11-20 years. The result revealed that HCV infects 69% of patients witha thalassemia major. There are no relationship between HCV infection and each of sex, blood groups and Rh factor.
Arwa Abass Al-Khaffajy and Abdulrhem Thonnon Younis Al-Ghazal, 2019. Prevalence of Hepatitis C Virus in Thalassemia and Hemoglobinopathies in Duhok City/Iraq. Research Journal of Medical Sciences, 13: 11-15.