Published online Oct 14, 2015. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v21.i38.10790
Peer-review started: March 28, 2015
First decision: April 24, 2015
Revised: May 20, 2015
Accepted: August 31, 2015
Article in press: August 31, 2015
Published online: October 14, 2015
Processing time: 200 Days and 13 Hours
In Iran, the prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is relatively low according to the population-based epidemiological studies. However, the epidemiology of HCV is changing and the rate of HCV infection is increasing due to the growth in the number of injecting drug users in the society. In addition, a shift has occurred in the distribution pattern of HCV genotypes among HCV-infected patients in Iran. Genotype 1a is the most prevalent genotype in Iran, but in recent years, an increase in the frequency of 3a and a decrease in 1a and 1b have been reported. These variations in the epidemiology of HCV reflect differences in the routes of transmission, status of public health, lifestyles, and risk factors in different groups and geographic regions of Iran. Health policy makers should consider these differences to establish better strategies for control and prevention of HCV infection. Therefore, this review was conducted to present a clear view regarding the current epidemiology of HCV infection in Iran.
Core tip: The distribution patterns of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection are related to different status of public health and the presence of risk factors in the society. In Iran, the predominance of risk factors for transmission of HCV has changed from blood transfusion to intravenous drug use; and due to the growth in the number of injecting drug users, the prevalence of HCV infection is rising in the country. Even the recent changes in the distribution pattern of HCV genotypes confirm this issue. Overall, the epidemiology of HCV is changing in Iran. Therefore, this review was conducted to present a clear view about current epidemiology of HCV in Iran.
- Citation: Taherkhani R, Farshadpour F. Epidemiology of hepatitis C virus in Iran. World J Gastroenterol 2015; 21(38): 10790-10810
- URL: https://www.wjgnet.com/1007-9327/full/v21/i38/10790.htm
- DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.3748/wjg.v21.i38.10790
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a small, enveloped positive-stranded RNA virus, belonging to the family Flaviviridae and the genus Hepacivirus[1,2]. Based on genomic heterogeneity, HCV has been classified into seven genotypes and over 70 different subtypes[3,4]. HCV is transmitted through exposure to infected blood and blood products. Blood transfusion, injecting drug use, sexual intercourse, surgery, and tattooing are some possible ways to spread HCV infection[5,6]. Among these, HCV transmission by sexual intercourse is less common and includes those that lead to mucosal exposure to infectious blood or blood-derived body fluids and is related to the presence of mucosal tears and genital ulcerative disease[7,8].
HCV is the major cause of chronic liver disease, and can lead to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)[3,9]. Although the infection is preliminary acute with a wide spectrum of clinical manifestations from asymptomatic to mild or even severe clinical illness[10], about 75% to 85% of acute HCV infections slowly progress to chronic infection[11]. Approximately 10%-20% of those chronically infected are at risk of developing liver cirrhosis within 20 to 30 years, and of those with cirrhosis, 1%-5% per year will develop HCC[12].
HCV infection is defined as the presence of HCV-RNA and anti-HCV antibodies in serum or plasma. A positive HCV antibody test [enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and immunoblot assay] indicates exposure to HCV, however, it cannot distinguish between current or past infection. In general, anti-HCV antibody positive samples can be defined as current HCV infection if the HCV RNA test [reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR)] is positive[8,13].
According to the World Health Organization reports, about 130-150 million of the world population have chronic HCV infection[14]. In addition, 3-4 million new cases of HCV infection emerge globally each year[15,16]. The chronic infection might result in cirrhosis, hepatic failure, or HCC, which are responsible for approximately 350000 to 500000 deaths per year[5,14,17,18]. Therefore, HCV is a life threatening global health problem, and its prevention is the main objective.
HCV has a high rate of genetic heterogeneity, therefore, no vaccine or immunoglobulin exist to prevent this infection[18]. Recent advances in HCV therapy have led to the development of new antiviral drugs for treatment of HCV infection, including the protease inhibitors telaprevir, simeprevir, boceprevir, and paritaprevir; NS5A inhibitors ledipasvir, daclatasvir, and ombitasvir; the nucleotide analog NS5B polymerase inhibitor sofosbuvir; and the non-nucleotide polymerase inhibitor dasabuvir[8,19,20]. These new therapies are well-tolerated and safer and much more effective than the previous therapies pegylated interferon (IFN)/ribavirin[20]. Despite these advantages, pegylated IFN-α in combination with ribavirin is recommended as the standard treatment for HCV infection in Iran[21-24]. The reasons for this are the high cost and restricted availability of the new medications in low- and middle-income countries[25].
Iran is a vast country with various ethnicities in different provinces. This country, with an area of about 1700000 km2, is located in the Middle East between Arab peninsula, Indian subcontinent, Europe, and Middle Asia[26,27]. There are variations in the prevalence and epidemiology of HCV in different groups and regions throughout the country. To achieve better strategies for the prevention and management of HCV infection, the current knowledge regarding the epidemiology of HCV infection merits reviewing. Therefore, we present here a clear review about the current epidemiology of HCV in Iran.
In Iran, the prevalence of HCV infection among blood donors in different studies varies considerably, depending on the study population, sample sizes, study periods, the geographic regions, risk factors, and the methods and type of kits used to determine HCV[15,28]. According to the results of a meta-analysis study, the prevalence of anti-HCV among 10739221 blood donors was 0.5% during 1996 to 2011[28]. In another study, the rate of anti-HCV seropositivity among 6499851 blood donors was 0.13% during 2004 to 2007[29]. The highest anti-HCV prevalence of 1.39% was declared in 2005, followed by a significant decreasing rate from 0.13% in 2007 to 0.03% in 2009[4,28]. The reasons for this decline were the implementation of more restrictive rules in physical examination prior to donation and the application of more sensitive HCV test kits for screening the blood by Iran Blood Transfusion Centers[27,28]. In addition, the public has become more aware of the routes of transmission of HCV infection in recent years[29].
Iran has the lowest anti-HCV prevalence among blood donors compared to corresponding figures in the Middle East countries, such as 0.6% in Lebanon, 0.8% in Kuwait, 0.9% in Oman, 2.7% in Yemen, and 5%-25% in Egypt[4,27,28,30,31]. Globally, however, the lowest HCV prevalence of 0.01%-0.1% has been reported in the United Kingdom and Scandinavia[5,18,32-34].
At present, the ELISA and confirmatory recombinant immunoblot assay (RIBA) are used routinely for screening of the blood donors by the Iranian blood bank transfusion centers. It seems screening of blood is an important factor in controlling and reducing the rate of HCV infection in the general population. However, the presence of asymptomatic or occult HCV infected donors with no detectable HCV Ab or low copy number of HCV genomes in their blood is a potential source of HCV transmission. Thus, the risk of HCV transmission through blood transfusion is considered an important public health concern[28,35] (Table 1[35-56]).
Author | Year of study | City or province | Location | No. of participants | No. of positive samples | Prevalence | Test | Ref. |
Taheri Azbarmi | 2003-2005 | Rasht, Gilan province | North | 49820 | 91 | 0.18% | ELISA and RIBA | [36] |
Mansour-Ghanaei | 1998-2003 | Gilan | North | 221508 | 3603 | 1.62% | ELISA | [37] |
709 | 0.32% | RIBA | ||||||
Bani Aghil | 2006-2008 | Golestan | North-East | 128198 | 161 | 0.12% | ELISA and immunoblot | [38] |
Khedmat | 2003-2005 | Tehran | North-Center | 1004889 | 21390 | 2.10% | ELISA | [39] |
1005 | 0.10% | RT-PCR | ||||||
Attarchi | 2003-2004 | Tehran | North-Center | 26645 | 42 | 0.20% | ELISA and RIBA | [40] |
Khedmat | 2005-2006 | Tehran | North-Center | 318029 | 323 | 0.09% | ELISA, immunoblot and RT-PCR | [35] |
Bozorgi | 2002-2004 | Qazvin | West-Center | 48116 | 73 | 0.15% | ELISA and RIBA | [41] |
Mahdaviani | 2004 | Arak | West-Center | 11615 | 81 | 0.70% | ELISA | [42] |
33 | 0.20% | RIBA | ||||||
Bozorgi | 2009 | Qazvin | West-Center | 20591 | 328 | 1.59% | ELISA | [43] |
35 | 0.17% | HCV confirmatory tests (ND) | ||||||
Afzali | 1996-2001 | Kashan | Center | 43731 | 477 | 1.10% | ELISA | [44] |
Moniri | 2001-2002 | Kashan | Center | 600 | 3 | 0.50% | ELISA | [45] |
Karimi | 2004-2006 | Shahr-e Kord | Central | 35124 | 70 | 0.20% | ELISA and immunoblot | [46] |
Masaeli | 2002-2003 | Isfahan | Center | 29458 | 24 | 0.27% | ELISA and RIBA | [47] |
Esmaieli | 2006-2007 | Bushehr | South | 20294 | 42 | 0.20% | ELISA and immunoblot | [48] |
Ghavanini | 1998 | Shiraz | South | 7897 | 47 | 0.59% | ELISA and immunoblot | [49] |
Emamghorashi | 2001-2003 | Jahrom | South | 3000 | 9 | 0.30% | ELISA and immunoblot | [50] |
Kasraian | 2002-2005 | Shiraz | South | 507531 | 710 | 0.14% | ELISA | [51] |
Kasraian | 2007-2008 | Shiraz | South | 93987 | 203 | 0.21% | ELISA and RIBA | [52] |
Delavari | 2003 | Kerman | South-East | 15252 | 60 | 0.39% | ELISA | [53] |
Tajbakhsh | 2004 | Shahr-e kord | West | 11472 | 69 | 0.60% | ELISA | [54] |
Doosti | 2003-2004 | Shahrekord | West | 11200 | 76 | 0.67% | ELISA | [55] |
0.59% | immunoblot | |||||||
0.41% | RT-PCR | |||||||
Ghafouri | 2006-2009 | South Khorasan | East | 42652 | 31 | 0.07% | ELISA | [56] |
13 | 0.03% | RIBA |
With an overall anti-HCV prevalence of less than 1% in the general population, Iran is considered a country with low frequency HCV infection[27]. However, it seems the prevalence of HCV is slightly rising in the country[57,58]. The prevalence of HCV infection in the general population varies considerably in different regions of Iran (Table 2[58-68]). These variations in the prevalence of HCV might be due to the differences in the quality of public health services, lifestyles, habits, and rates of high-risk behaviors in different geographic regions[15,28].
Author | Year of study | City or province | Location | No. of participants | No. of positive samples | Prevalence | Test | Ref. |
Zamani | 2008-2011 | Amol, Mazandaran | North | 6145 | 12 | 0.20% | ELISA | [60] |
5 | 0.08% | RIBA | ||||||
3 | 0.05% | RT-PCR | ||||||
Mansour-Ghanaei | 2003 | Gilan | North | 383 | 9 | 2.30% | ELISA | [61] |
5 | 1.30% | RT-PCR | ||||||
Shakeri | 2010-2011 | Mashhad | North-East | 3870 | 8 | 0.20% | ELISA | [62] |
5 | 0.13% | RT-PCR | ||||||
Ghadir | 2006 | Golestan | North-East | 2123 | 56 | 2.60% | ELISA | [63] |
22 | 1.00% | RIBA | ||||||
Merat | 2006 | Golestan | North-East | 1895 | 18 | 1.00% | ELISA and RIBA | [58] |
Merat | 2006 | Tehran | North-Center | 2326 | 8 | 0.30% | ELISA and RIBA | [58] |
Merat | 2006 | Hormozgan | South | 1463 | 24 | 1.60% | ELISA and RIBA | [58] |
Motlagh | 2001 | Ahvaz | South-West | 80 | 5 | 6.25% | ELISA | [64] |
0 | 0.00% | Immunoblot | ||||||
Nikbakht | 2007-2008 | Ahvaz | South-West | 712 | 9 | 0.63% | ELISA | [65] |
Moradi | 2001-2002 | Saravan, | South-East | 365 | 3 | 0.80% | ELISA | [66] |
Sistan and | ||||||||
Baluchestan | ||||||||
Sayad | 2006 | Kermanshah | West | 1721 | 15 | 0.87% | ELISA, immunoblot and RT-PCR | [67] |
Mohebbi | 2007-2008 | Lorestan | West | 827 | 2 | 0.20% | ELISA | [68] |
In Iran, the prevalence of HCV infection in the general population is lower than those of the neighboring countries such as Afghanistan (1.1%), Turkey (1%-2.1%), Pakistan (4.7%), Iraq (7.1%), and Qatar (6.3%)[4,30]. Globally, the highest HCV prevalence of 17.5% (13%-22%) has been reported in Egypt[59].
The general population-based prevalence of HCV infection is used to describe and compare the local and global epidemiology of HCV infection[10,16]. The surveys on prevalence of HCV in the blood donor population fail to assess the true prevalence in an entire community. Since a large number of HCV positive cases are excluded from donating blood, the donor population is representative of a population at low risk of HCV infection. A recent study reported a HCV prevalence of 9.2% in the excluded individuals[27]. Therefore, the prevalence of HCV in the general population is higher than that in the donor population[27,28].
Presently, injecting drug use is the main route of HCV transmission[6,9,69]. Iran has one of the highest numbers of drug addicts in the world[9,70]. It has been reported that 2.8% of Iranian adults aged 15-64 years are drug abusers and about 180000 (12.2%) of this population are injecting drug users (IDUs)[9]. Estimates from Iran show a HCV prevalence of 50%-75% among IDUs[6]. However, the prevalence of anti-HCV among IDUs varies considerably in different regions of Iran (Table 3[70-90]). The outcomes revealed that Gilan, Hamedan, Tehran, and Hormozgan provinces have the highest rate of HCV infection, while Shahre Kord had the lowest rate of infection (Table 3). As a result, IDUs are the main source of HCV infection in Iran and account for the large proportion of current HCV transmission in the society[6,9,27]. In addition, the prevalence of HCV infection in prisons of Iran is extremely high, where 38% to 90% of imprisoned IDUs have been infected with HCV[9]. Interestingly, tattooing more effectively transmits HCV infection than injecting drug use among Iranian prisoners[6].
Author | Year of study | City or province | location | No. of participants | No. of positive samples | Prevalence | Test | Ref. |
Mohtasham Amiri | 2003 | Gilan | North | 81 | 72 | 88.9% | ELISA | [72] |
Rahimi-Movaghar | 2006-2007 | Tehran | North-Center | 895 | 309 | 34.5% | ELISA | [73] |
Hosseini | 2006 | Tehran | North-Center | 417 | 334 | 80.0% | ELISA | [74] |
Zali | 1995 | Tehran | North-Center | 402 (Male imprisoned IDUs) | 182 | 45.3% | ELISA, RIBA | [75] |
Zamani | 2004 | Tehran | North-Center | 202 | 105 | 52.0% | Particle Agglutination (PA) assay | [76] |
Hajinasrollah | 2005 | Tehran | North-Center | 65 | 11 | 17.0% | ELISA | [77] |
Amin-Esmaeili | 2006-2007 | Tehran | North-Center | 895 | 309 | 34.5% | ELISA | [78] |
Nokhodian | 2008-2009 | Isfahan | Center | 531 | 250 | 47.1% | ELISA | [79] |
Zamani | 2008 | Isfahan | Center | 117 | 71 | 60.7% | EIA | [80] |
Kassaian | 2009 | Isfahan | Center | 943 | 392 | 41.6% | ELISA | [81] |
Fadaei Nobari | 2011 | Isfahan | Center | 1747 | 595 | 34.0% | ELISA | [82] |
Sofian | 2009 | Arak, Markazi | West-Center | 153 (Male IDUs) | 91 | 59.5% | ELISA | [83] |
Ramezani | 2012 | Arak | West-Center | 100 (Male IDUs) | 56 | 56.0% | ELISA | [84] |
Honarvar | 2012-2013 | Shiraz | South | 569 (High risk groups) | 109 | 19.1% | ELISA and immunoblot | [70] |
233 (IDUs) | 94 | 40.3% | ||||||
336 (non-IDUs) | 15 | 4.4% | ||||||
Davoodian | 2002 | Bandar Abbas, Hormozgan | South | 249 | 163 | 64.8% | ELISA | [85] |
Sarkari | 2009-2010 | Kohgiloyeh and Boyerahmad | South-West | 158 | 67 | 42.4% | ELISA | [86] |
Imani | 2004 | Shahr-e Kord | Sout-West | 133 | 15 | 11.3% | ELISA | [87] |
Alavi | 2002-2006 | Ahvaz | South-West | 333 | 103 | 30.9% | ND | [88] |
Mohammad Alizadeh | 2002 | Hamadan | West | 149 (IDUs Prisoners) | 47 | 31.5% | ELISA, immunoblot | [89] |
Keramat | 2005-2007 | Hamadan | West | 379 (High risk groups) | 135 | 35.6% | ELISA, immunoblot | [90] |
199 (IDUs) | 126 | 63.3% |
The global prevalence of HCV infection among IDUs varies considerably from 9.8% to 97.4%[71]. Approximately 10 million IDUs with a global midpoint prevalence of 67% are positive for anti-HCV. The highest rate of HCV infection among the IDUs has been reported in China (67%, 1.6 million), the United States (73.4%, 1.5 million), and Russia (72.5%, 1.3 million)[71].
Distribution of HCV infection among hemodialysis patients has a vast geographic variation in different regions of Iran (Table 4[91-119]). According to a recent meta-analysis study in Iran, prevalence of HCV infection among this group of patients was reported to be 13.6%, 12.2%, and 7.6% by ELISA, RIBA, and PCR, respectively, which is lower than those of Saudi Arabia (50.5%), Kuwait (43.4%), Jordan (32.5%), and Pakistan (23.7%)[91-94] but higher than those of Australia (2.3%), United Kingdom (2.7%), Germany (3.9%), and Bahrain (7.4%)[95-97]. The risk of HCV infection is extremely high among hemodialysis patients[11]. Recent surveys show that the prevalence of HCV infection among hemodialysis patients is not related to history of blood transfusion. Considering the fact that the length of time on dialysis is significantly associated with HCV seropositivity, the nosocomial transmission is the main route of HCV transmission among Iranian hemodialysis patients[11,98].
Author | Year of study | City or province | Location | No. of participants | No. of positive samples | Prevalence | Test | Ref. |
Makhlough | 2006 | Mazandaran | North | 186 | 39 | 21.0% | ELISA | [99] |
21 | 11.3% | RT-PCR | ||||||
Amiri | 2001 | Gilan | North | 298 | 80 | 26.8% | ELISA | [100] |
74 | 24.8% | Immunoblot | ||||||
Joukar | 2008 | Gilan | North | 514 | 61 | 11.9% | ELISA | [101] |
32 | 6.2% | RT-PCR | ||||||
Samimi-rad | 2005 | Markazi | West-Center | 204 | 11 | 5.4% | ELISA, RIBA and RT-PCR | [102] |
Bozorghi | 2006 | Qazvin | West-Center | 89 | 9 | 10.3% | ELISA | [103] |
6 | 6.4% | RIBA | ||||||
Somi | 2012 | Tabriz | North-West | 455 | 37 | 8.1% | ELISA | [104] |
Zahedi | 2010 | Kerman | South-East | 228 | 16 | 7.0% | ELISA | [105] |
7 | 3.0% | PCR | ||||||
Kalantari | 2010-2011 | Isfahan | Center | 499 | 26 | 5.2% | ELISA | [106] |
Zamani | 1998–2005 | Amol, Tonekabon, Rasht and Ramsar | North | 334 | 67 | 20.0% | ELISA, RT-PCR | [107] |
Mazandaran and Gilan provinces | ||||||||
Assarehzadegan | 2005-2006 | Khuzestan | South-West | 214 | 34 | 7.9% | ELISA, RT-PCR | [108] |
Nemati | 1990-2006 | Tehran | Center | 112 | 6 | 5.3% | ELISA, RT-PCR | [109] |
Sotoudehjahromi | 2006 | Jahrom | South | 34 | 3 | 8.8% | ELISA | [110] |
2 | 5.9% | RIBA | ||||||
Alavian | 2003 | Tehran | North-Center | 838 | 176 | 21.0% | ELISA | [111] |
111 | 13.2% | RIBA | ||||||
Broumand | 2002 | Tehran | North-Center | 548 | 105 | 19.6% | ELISA | [112] |
51 | 9.33% | RT-PCR | ||||||
Nasiri-Toosi | 2007 | Tehran | North-Center | 130 | 11 | 8.5% | ND | [113] |
Mohammad-Alizadeh | 2002 | Hamedan | West | 96 | 9 | 11.4% | ELISA | [114] |
Saboor | 1999-2000 | Kermanshah | West | 140 | 37 | 26.4% | ELISA | [115] |
Jabbari | 2008 | Golestan | North-East | 93 | 23 | 24.7% | ELISA, RIBA | [116] |
Ansari | 2005-2006 | Urmia | North-West | 50 | 19 | 38.0% | EIA | [117] |
12 | 24.0% | RT-PCR | ||||||
Hassanshahi | 2006-2007 | Kerman | South-East | 203 | 64 | 31.5% | ELISA, RT-PCR | [118] |
Ansar | 1997-1998 | Gilan | North | 93 | 52 | 55.9% | ELISA | [119] |
Hemophilia patients may acquire HCV infection via contaminated blood products[98]. In Iran, the prevalence of HCV among hemophilia patients is very high, with an overall prevalence of 40.8%[98] and has a wide geographic variation (Table 5[120-134]). Most of the HCV infections among hemophilia patients are asymptomatic and may lead to liver failure. Therefore, routine screening for HCV infection in hemophilia patients is required to prevent the serious consequences of HCV infection[27].
Author | Year of study | City or province | Location | No. of participants | No. of positive samples | Prevalence | Test | Ref. |
Mansour-Ghanaei | 1999 | Gilan | North | 101 | 72 | 71.30% | RIBA | [120] |
Torabi | 2004 | East Azarbaijan | North-West | 130 | 72 | 56.00% | ELISA, RIBA | [121] |
Valizadeh | 2010 | West Azarbaijan | North-West | 35 | 3 | 8.57% | ELISA, RIBA and RT-PCR | [122] |
Mousavian | 2003-2005 | Tehran | North-Center | 1095 | 802 | 72.30% | ELISA and RT-PCR | [123] |
Kalantari | 2008-2010 | Isfahan | Center | 615 | 495 | 80.50% | ELISA | [124] |
347 | 56.40% | RT-PCR | ||||||
Mobini | 2006 | Yazd | Center | 77 | 41 | 53.20% | ELISA | [125] |
38 | 49.40% | RT-PCR | ||||||
Yazdani | 1996-2010 | Isfahan | Center | 350 | 231 | 66.00% | ELISA | [126] |
Javadzadeh Shahshahani | 2003 | Yazd | Center | 74 | 36 | 48.60% | ELISA and RIBA | [127] |
Samimi-Rad | 2004 | Markazi | West-Center | 76 | 34 | 44.70% | ELISA | [128] |
33 | 43.40% | RIBA | ||||||
23 | 30.26% | RT-PCR | ||||||
Mahdaviani | 2004 | Markazi | West-Center | 68 | 26 | 38.20% | ELISA | [129] |
25 | 36.70% | RIBA | ||||||
Karimi | 1999-2000 | Shiraz | South | 281 | 44 | 15.65% | ELISA and immunoblot | [130] |
Assarehzadegan | 2008-2009 | Ahvaz | South-West | 87 | 47 | 54.00% | ELISA | [131] |
42 | 48.30% | RT-PCR | ||||||
Zahedi | 2002 | Kerman | South-East | 97 | 43 | 44.30% | ELISA and RIBA | [132] |
Sharifi-Mood | 2003-2006 | Zahedan, Sistan and Baluchistan | South-East | 81 | 24 | 29.60% | ELISA and immunoblot | [133] |
Esfahani | 2012 | Hamadan | West | 89 | 44 | 49.40% | ELISA | [134] |
15 | 16.70% | RT-PCR |
HCV is a major cause of mortality in thalassemia patients due to post-transfusion HCV infection, which dramatically progresses to liver failure or even HCC[27,135]. Therefore, HCV infection is currently considered the main health problem in thalassemia patients, and much more attention to HCV screening in the blood transfusion process may improve survival of thalassemia patients[136]. Even though the current policies of blood banks have considerably decreased the incidence of HCV infection in thalassemia patients, blood transfusion remains the main risk factor for HCV infection among this group of patients because of transfusion of HCV-infected seronegative blood donated during the window period[27,136,137]. Therefore, the rate of HCV infection is high among thalassemia patients[137].
The geographical distribution of HCV infection among thalassemia patients varies widely in different regions of Iran (Table 6[86,118,119,127-129,137-151]), but a recent meta-analysis study reported the overall HCV prevalence is 18% among thalassemia patients in Iran[136]. Iran has the lowest rate of HCV infection among thalassemia patients in comparison with Eastern Mediterranean countries[136]. High prevalence of HCV infection has been reported among thalassemia in Egypt (69%), Saudi Arabia (63%), and Pakistan (45%)[136].
Author | Year of study | City or province | Location | No. of participants | No. of positive samples | Prevalence | Test | Ref. |
Mirmomen | 2002 | Tehran | North-Center | 410 | 80 | 19.6% | ELISA, RIBA | [138] |
Kerman | South-East | 100 | 18 | 18.8% | ||||
Qazvin | West-Center | 95 | 23 | 25.3% | ||||
Semnan | East-Center | 81 | 19 | 24.4% | ||||
Zanjan | West | 46 | 1 | 2.2% | ||||
Total | 732 | 141 | 19.6% | |||||
Ansar | 1997-1998 | Rasht | North | 105 | 67 | 63.8% | ELISA | [119] |
Ghane | 2010-2011 | Gilan and Mazandaran | North | 245 | 46 | 18.8% | ELISA | [139] |
28 | 11.4% | Nested-PCR | ||||||
Tamaddoni | 2005 | Babol | North | 113 | 12 | 10.6% | ELISA | [140] |
Mansouritorghabeh | 2007 | Mashhad | North-East | 360 | 30 | 8.33% | ELISA | [137] |
Alavi | ND | Tehran | North-Center | 90 (pediatric patients) | 12 | 13.3% | ELISA, RT-PCR | [141] |
Alavian | 2002 | Qazvin | West-Center | 96 | 23 | 24.2% | ELISA, RIBA | [142] |
Samimi-Rad | 2004 | Markazi | West-Center | 98 | 7 | 7.1% | ELISA | [128] |
5 | 5.1% | RIBA | ||||||
2 | 2.04% | RT-PCR | ||||||
Bozorgi | 2005 | Qazvin | West-Central | 207 | 54 | 26.1% | ELISA | [143] |
50 | 24.01% | RIBA | ||||||
Azarkeivan | 1996-2009 | Tehran | North-Center | 395 | 109 | 27.5% | EIA, RIBA | [144] |
Mahdaviani | 2004 | Markazi | West-Center | 97 | 9 | 9.2% | ELISA | [129] |
7 | 7.2% | RIBA | ||||||
Nakhaie | 1999-2000 | Tehran | North-Center | 507 | 122 | 24.0% | ELISA | [145] |
41 | 8.1% | RT-PCR | ||||||
Kalantari | 2008-2010 | Isfahan | Center | 545 | 50 | 9.1% | ELISA | [124] |
31 | 5.6% | RT-PCR | ||||||
Ataei | 1996-2011 | Isfahan | Center | 466 | 37 | 8.0% | ND | [146] |
Javadzadeh Shahshahani | 2003 | Yazd | Center | 85 | 8 | 9.4% | ELISA, RIBA | [127] |
Karimi | 1999-2000 | Shiraz | South | 466 (pediatric patients) | 73 | 15.7% | ELISA and immunoblot | [147] |
Kashef | 2006 | Shiraz | South | 131 | 24 | 18.3% | ELISA and immunoblot | [148] |
7 | 5.3% | RT-PCR | ||||||
Kadivar | 1999 | Shiraz | South | 147 | 40 | 27.2% | ELISA | [149] |
Shahraki | 2005-2007 | Zahedan | South-East | 560 (pediatric patients) | 30 | 5.3% | ELISA | [150] |
20 | 3.5% | PCR | ||||||
Hassanshahi | 2006-2007 | Kerman | South-East | 181 | 81 | 44.7% | ELISA, RT-PCR | [118] |
Ghafourian Boroujerdnia | 2005-2006 | Ahvaz | South-West | 206 | 58 | 28.2% | ELISA | [151] |
46 | 22.3% | RT-PCR | ||||||
Sarkari | 2009-2010 | Kohgiloyeh and Boyerahmad | South-West | 49 | 3 | 6.1% | ELISA | [86] |
Health care workers are at the risk of acquiring HCV infection due to occupational exposures to blood and blood-derived body fluids[152]. There are few reports on the prevalence of HCV infection among health care workers in Iran. In Shoaei et al[153], HCV infection status was negative in 203 health care workers in Isfahan city in 2012. Similarly, all 191 health care workers were tested negative for HCV antibodies in Shahrud province in 2010[154]. Hadadi et al[155] reported a HCV prevalence of 6.6% (31/467) among health care workers in Tehran in 2004-2005, and Sarkari et al[86] reported a HCV seroprevalence of 4.2% among 212 health care workers in Kohgiloyeh and Boyerahmad province in 2009-2010.
The global prevalence of HCV infection among health care workers is 1%-6%[156]. After HBV, HCV is the most common blood-borne infection found among health care workers. Needle-stick or sharp injuries and mucosal exposure following blood splash are the most common risk factors for HCV infection among health care workers[152,153]. Therefore, prevention strategies and training programs are needed for health care workers to reduce the incidence of HCV infection in this group.
Homeless people are one of the main high-risk groups for acquiring HCV infection because of high-risk behaviors, lifestyle, low levels of education, poverty, and poor hygiene[157,158]. There are over 100 million homeless people worldwide, and the prevalence of HCV infection among this group varies from 3.9% to 36.2% in different parts of the world[159]. Currently, there are no data on the number of homeless people in Iran, and only a few studies are available on the prevalence of HCV infection among homeless people in Tehran, the capital of Iran. Amiri et al[157] reported a HCV prevalence of 23.3% among 593 homeless individuals in Tehran in 2012. In another study by Vahdani et al[158], the prevalence of HCV infection was found to be 42.8% among 202 homeless men in Tehran city in 2007. According to the available data in Iran, the prevalence of HCV infection is considerably high among the older homeless population and homeless IDUs, especially those with a history of imprisonment[157,158]. The seroprevalence of HCV was reported to be 3.5% among the street children in Tehran city in 2008[160], while it was 1.0% in Isfahan city in 2005-2007[161].
The prevalence of HCV infection among homeless populations is higher than the other blood-borne infections, therefore, HCV infection is the main health problem among homeless population of Iran and implementation of HCV-controlling and educational programs are required to reduce HCV infection among this population[157,158,161].
Prevalence of HCV coinfection among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) positive patients ranges from 11.5% to 94.0% in different regions of Iran[85,162] (Table 7[85,162-174]). This geographic variation in HCV/HIV coinfection reflects diversity of the risk factors, the types of exposure, and the epidemiology of these viruses in different regions of the country[163,164]. However, in all of these studies, intravenous drug use and a history of imprisonment were the most prevalent risk factors for HCV/HIV co-infection in Iran[164-169].
Author | Year of study | City or province | Location | No. of participants | No. of positive samples | Prevalence | Test | Ref. |
Babamahmoodi | 2008-2010 | Mazandaran | North | 80 | 27 | 33.8% | ELISA | [173] |
Ramezani | 1999-2004 | Tehran | North-Center | 95 | 65 | 68.0% | ELISA | [167] |
SeyedAlinaghi | 2004- 2005 | Tehran | North-Center | 201 | 135 | 67.2% | ELISA | [170] |
Ataei | 1998-2007 | Isfahan | Center | 130 | 100 | 77.0% | ELISA and RIBA | [168] |
Davarpanah | 2006-2007 | Shiraz | South | 226 | 200 | 88.5% | ELISA | [166] |
196 | 86.7% | RIBA | ||||||
59 | 26.1% | RT-PCR | ||||||
Khosravi | Fars | South | 101 | 87 | 86.1% | ELISA | [172] | |
Alipour | 2011 | Shiraz | South | 1444 | 1132 | 78.4% | ELISA | [169] |
Davoodian | 2002 | Bandar Abbas and Roodan | South | 38 | 35 | 94.0% | ELISA | [85] |
Zahedi | 2011 | Kerman | South-East | 165 | 122 | 73.9% | ELISA | [165] |
Sharifi-Mood | 2000-2005 | Zahedan | South-East | 52 | 6 | 11.5% | ND | [162] |
Alavi | 2001-2003 | Ahvaz | South-West | 104 | 77 | 74.04% | ELISA | [171] |
Saleh | 2013 | Khorramabad, Lorestan | West | 103 | 23 | 22.3% | ELISA | [174] |
Mohammadi | 2007-2008 | Lorestan | West | 391 | 282 | 72.0% | ELISA | [163] |
The prevalence of HCV coinfection is noticeably high among HIV-positive patients in Iran. The shared modes of transmission and the lack of an effective vaccine for HCV could explain this high prevalence[163-165,169,170]. In Iran, HCV and HIV are predominantly transmitted by injecting drug use[165,170,171]. Moreover, the rate of IDUs is increasing in Iran, which may boost the rate of HCV/HIV coinfection in the country[163].
HCV coinfection adversely affects HIV disease outcomes and leads to severe liver disorders, progression to cirrhosis and HCC, and subsequently lower survival of HIV infected patients[163-165]. HIV infection leads to higher rates of HCV persistence, increased risk of hepatotoxicity due to the extensive use of anti-retroviral drugs, and subsequently accelerated end stage liver disease[164,169-171]. Overall, one third of mortalities in HIV infected patients are related to liver diseases[163,164,170]. Therefore, HCV coinfection is considered a potential threat to HIV positive patients, and routine screening for HCV infection, as well as HCV treatment, seem to be necessary in all HIV-positive patients[164,165,169,172].
Mixed cryoglobulinemia is the most common immunological disorder reported in patients with chronic HCV infection[175-177]. The prevalence of HCV infection in patients with mixed cryoglobulinemia ranges from 40% to 90% worldwide[178]. Several studies have reported HCV infection as the etiological agent of mixed cryoglobulinemia[176,179,180]. Gharagozloo et al[181] reported an anti-HCV prevalence of 69% among patients with mixed cryoglobulinemia in Iran. In Owlia et al[182], 16% of patients (8/50) with HCV infection had cryoglobulins in central regions of Iran. However, this rate was relatively low in comparison with the high incidence of mixed cryoglobulinemia (19%-> 50%) among patients with chronic HCV infection.
Diabetes mellitus is one of the most prevalent metabolic disorders, and it affects 4.6%-10.0% of the Iranian population[183]. In 1994, a possible association between HCV infection and diabetes mellitus was first introduced[184]. Since then, many studies have demonstrated that HCV infection has a role in the activation of host innate immune responses and, via the TNF-α pathway, induces the destruction of insulin signaling pathways and subsequently the development of insulin resistance[185]. In addition, immune-mediated pathogenesis or direct cytotoxic effects of HCV on pancreatic islet cells results in dysfunction of β cells and declines the insulin production[183,185-188]. Although HCV infects the pancreas, autoimmunity is not involved in the occurrence of diabetes[186].
Several studies have shown that the prevalence of HCV among diabetic patients is significantly higher than that in non-diabetic patients[187,189,190]. Interestingly, male gender, age over 40 years, and abnormal liver enzymes are associated with high prevalence of HCV infection among patients with diabetes mellitus[191]. Although there are several reports on the prevalence of HCV infection among patients with diabetes mellitus in Iran, the results show great heterogeneity. Aghamohammadzadeh et al[192] reported HCV seropositivity in 2.5% (10/400) of Iranian patients with diabetes mellitus in Tabriz. In addition, Alavian et al[193] showed an increased risk of diabetes mellitus among Iranian patients with chronic HCV infection in Tehran. While, Janbakhsh et al[194] reported no association between HCV infection and the occurrence of diabetes in Kermanshah. Metanat et al[195] found no association between HCV and diabetes in Zahedan, and Bahar et al[196] reported similar findings in Tehran.
According to the epidemiological data, patients with chronic HCV infection are at an increased risk for developing diabetes[191,197,198]. HCV infection is a risk factor for occurrence of diabetes, and diabetes will enhance the risk of liver fibrosis, cirrhosis, and finally progression to HCC[187]. Therefore, screening of all HCV positive patients for diabetes mellitus is recommended to reduce the adverse effects associated with diabetes on HCV infection, which may progress to liver fibrosis, cirrhosis, or even HCC.
The incidence of diabetes mellitus among HCV positive patients ranges from 23% to 62% in different parts of the world[183]. This incidence is 18.3% among Iranian HCV-infected patients, which is higher than that in the general population of Iran[183]. Compared to other parts of the world, the prevalence of diabetes mellitus among Iranian patients with HCV infection is low. Overall, there are no adequate studies in this field in Iran. Therefore, more surveys are recommended to clearly identify the frequency of diabetes mellitus among HCV-infected patients in Iran.
Autoimmune thyroid disorders (ATD), including Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and Graves’ disease, are the most prevalent endocrine problems worldwide[199,200]. Many investigators have investigated the possible association between chronic HCV infection and autoimmune thyroiditis. However, the exact role of HCV infection in the development of autoimmune thyroiditis remains unclear[201]. Investigations have suggested several mechanisms, including the following: (1) Non-autoimmune-mediated pathogenesis through direct cytopathic effect of HCV on thyrocytes, which results in destruction of thyroid follicular cells[201]; (2) Autoimmune-mediated pathogenesis due to the presence of homologous amino acid sequences between viral proteins and thyroidal proteins or molecular mimicry and over activation of autoreactive T-cells and B-cells during HCV infection, which results in production of anti-thyroid antibodies[200-202]; and (3) The adverse effects of IFN-therapy on thyroid gland through immune stimulatory and direct effects of IFN on the thyrocytes, which ultimately results in destructive thyroiditis[199,201,203]. Therefore, monitoring thyroid function is recommended during IFN-therapy in patients with HCV infection[201,204].
There are limited reports on the significance of HCV infection in patients with ATD in Iran. Ziaee et al[204] reported thyroid dysfunction in 10.3% of patients with chronic HCV infection in Tehran in 2002-2003, while, Rahimi et al[205] found no relationship between chronic HCV infection and autoimmune thyroiditis in Kermanshah in 2010. Similarly, Jadali et al[206,207] reported no relationship between HCV infection and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis or Graves’ disease in Tehran in 2005. Still, more studies are recommended to generate a clear epidemiological pattern of HCV infection among patients with thyroid disorders in Iran.
Lichen planus (LP) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the skin and mucous membranes with unknown etiology[199,208,209]. Chronic HCV infection appears to have a role in the pathogenesis of LP through induction of host immune responses and immune dysregulation in susceptible patients[200,210,211]. This mechanism was confirmed by the presence of HCV-RNA and HCV-specific T lymphocytes in the skin and mucous membrane specimens of patients with LP[200,209]. Another possibility is the effect of IFN-therapy in the development of LP in patients with HCV infection[209]. However, HCV replicates in skin and mucous lesions of patients with LP, but no direct cytotoxic effect of HCV on skin and mucosa cells could be proposed in the development of LP[209]. The majority of patients with LP have not been infected with HCV[212]. In addition, the incidence of LP among patients with chronic HCV infection was estimated about 5% (1%-6%)[199,209]. Therefore, it seems that HCV contributes to the development of LP, with some unknown underlying factors also involved in this process[210].
According to the epidemiological data, the prevalence of HCV among LP patients varies considerably from 4% to 62% in different parts of the world, where this prevalence is higher in HCV endemic countries[209,210]. There are limited reports on the prevalence of HCV among patients with LP in Iran. Rabiei et al[213] reported high prevalence of oral lichen planus (OLP) in HCV-infected patients (4.7%) compared to the general population (0.5%-2.0%) and suggested an association between HCV infection and OLP in Gilan in 2002. Similary, Khatibi et al[214] reported a higher prevalence of OLP in HCV-infected patients (4%) than the general population in Tehran. In contrast, Rahnama et al[215] reported no association between LP and HCV in Kerman in 2005. Similarly, Taghavi Zenouz et al[216] found no relationship between LP and HCV in Tabriz in 2009, and Ansar et al[208] reported a similar result in Hamedan province in 2011. Overall, Petti et al[212] reported a weak association between HCV and OLP in Iranian population. Further investigations are needed to clearly identify the association between HCV and LP in Iran.
HCV is not only primarily hepatotropic, but it can also affect lymphatic systems and lead to B cell lymphoproliferative disorders such as non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL)[217]. Few studies have evaluated the relationship between HCV seropositivity and the incidence of NHL in Iran. Aledavood et al[218] reported low prevalence of HCV infection among patients with NHL (0.7%) compared to the general population (0.5%-1%) and found no relationship between HCV infection and NHL in Northeast of Iran in 2014. In contrast, Rezaeian et al[219] reported high prevalence of HCV in patients with NHL (15.7%) compared to the control group (0%) and suggested an association between HCV infection and NHL. Similarly, Rastin et al[217] found a HCV prevalence of 7.4% among patients with NHL in Mashhad city. NHL is prevalent worldwide and is the eighth and 11th most common cancer in males and females, respectively[220]. Although the exact risk factor for NHL has not yet been determined, it seems that HCV infection has a role in the pathogenesis of this lymphoproliferative disorder[178].
According to the results of a meta-analysis study, the global prevalence of HCV infection in NHL patients is approximately 15%, which is higher than the prevalence of HCV in general population (1.5%), suggesting a possible role of HCV infection in the development of NHL[221]. Although the role of other factors, such as genetic and environmental factors, should also be considered in the pathogenesis of NHL malignancy[217,221].
HCC is the fifth most common malignancy and the second most fatal cancer, with approximately 600000 deaths annually worldwide[222]. HBV and HCV infections account for 50% and 25% of global HCC cases, respectively. However, HCV infection is the most predominant cause of HCC in Japan and the United States[222]. Iran is considered a low endemic area for HCC, with less than five cases per 100000 persons annually[26,223]. Kerman province, located in Southeast of Iran, has a higher incidence of HCC compared to other provinces. This may be due to higher frequency of HBV and HCV infections in this part of the country[224].
In Hajiani et al[225]’s study, the seroprevalence of HBV and HCV infections among patients with HCC in southern Iran were 52.1% and 8.5%, respectively. They pointed out that the prevalence of HCV infection among HCC patients may be underestimated due to the potential contribution of occult HCV infection in the development of HCC. Therefore, the prevalence of occult HCV infection among patients with HCC should be investigated in future surveys. Ansari et al[135] found a very low incidence of HCC (0.6%) among thalassemia patients with HCV infection due to the anti-HCV treatment in this group of patients. In Iran, HCV is the second most common cause of HCC after HBV infection[26,223]. However, it is predicted that chronic HCV infection will replace HBV infection as the main cause of HCC in the future[26].
HCV genotypes differ in their nucleotide sequence and biological properties, such as pathogenicity, infectivity, antigenicity, response to antiviral therapy, mode of transmission, as well as geographical distribution and age-distribution[226,227]. Distribution of HCV genotypes is variable in different regions of Iran (Table 8[101,102,128,131,228-251]). Subtypes 1a is more prevalent in southern and northern Iran, 3a is more prevalent in northern and central Iran, 1b is more prevalent in southern and western Iran, and genotype 2 is more prevalent in western regions of Iran[4,226,228]. Overall, the most frequent genotype in Iran is 1a, followed by 3a and 1b[4].
Study group | City or province | Location | Year of study | Sample size | Genotype 1 | Genotype 2 | Genotype 3 | Genotypes 4 and 5 | Mixed genotype | Non typable | Method | Author | Ref. |
Blood donors | Ahvaz | South-West | 2007-2008 | 45 | 1a: 24 (53.3) | 3a: 21 (46.7) | RFLP | Farshadpour | [233] | ||||
Blood donors | Tehran | North-Center | 2006-2008 | 103 | 1a: 53 (51.5) | 3a: 39 (37.9) | 7 (6.8) | Type-specific primers | Sharifi | [234] | |||
1b: 4 (3.9) | |||||||||||||
General population | Iran | Iran | 2000-2005 | 116 | 1a: 71 (61.2) | 3a: 29 (25.0) | RFLP | Amini | [235] | ||||
1b: 16 (13.8) | |||||||||||||
General population | Iran | Iran | 2004-2007 | 206 | 1a: 53 (25.73) | 2: 4 (1.95) | 3a: 96 (46.60) | 11 (5.34) | 6 (2.91) | PCR kit | Hajia | [236] | |
1b: 36 (17.47) | |||||||||||||
General population | Isfahan | Center | 2007-2009 | 97 | 1a: 29 (29.5) | 2: 2 (2.0) | 3a: 59 (61.2) | 2 (2.0) | PCR based genotyping kit | Zarkesh-Esfahani | [237] | ||
1b: 5 (5.1) | |||||||||||||
General population | Zanjan | West | 2007-2013 | ND | 1a: 22.05% | 2: 5.14% | 3a: 38.26% | 4: 4.41% | 4.41% | LiPA | Esmaeilzadeh | [238] | |
1b: 25.73% | |||||||||||||
General population | Yazd | Center | 2010-2013 | 191 | 1a: 74 (38.7) | 2: 3 (1.6) | 3: 96 (50.3) | 5 (2.6) | PCR based genotyping kit | Hadinedoushan | [239] | ||
1b: 13 (6.8) | |||||||||||||
General population | Mashhad | North-East | 2009-2010 | 382 | 1a: 147 (39.2) | 2a: 9 (2.4) | 3a: 150 (40.0) | 5: 13(3.4) | Genotype specific primers | Vossughinia | [240] | ||
1b: 41(10.9) | |||||||||||||
General population | Tehran | North-Center | 2007 | 2231 | 1a: 886 (39.7) | 3a: 613 (27.5) | 33 (1.6) | 401 (18.0) | Genotype specific primers | Keyvani | [241] | ||
1b: 271 (12.1) | |||||||||||||
General population | Golestan | North | 2010 | 77 | 1a: 15 (19.5) | 2a: 2 (2.6) | 3a: 12 (15.6) | 4: 6 (7.8) | 8 (6.5) | Genotype specific primers | Moradi | [242] | |
1b: 15(19.5) | 3b: 19 (24.7) | ||||||||||||
General population | Ahvaz | South-West | 2009 | 80 | 1a: 43 (53.8) | 3a: 37 (46.2) | RFLP | Hamidi-Fard | [243] | ||||
Thalassemia | Mazandaran | North | 2009-2011 | 34 | 1a: 13 (38.24) | 3a: 15 (44.12) | 4 (11.76) | 1 (2.94) | Type-specific primer | Rafiei | [244] | ||
1b: 1 (2.94) | |||||||||||||
Thalassemia | Mazandaran and Guilan | North | 2010 | 28 | 1a: 9 (32.1) | 3a: 18 (64.3) | RFLP | Ghane | [245] | ||||
1b: 1 (3.6) | |||||||||||||
Thalassemia | Fars | South | 2009-2012 | 38 | 1: 17 (44.7) | 3: 6 (15.8) | 15 (39.5) | Real-time PCR | Jamalidoust | [231] | |||
Haemophilia | Mazandaran | North | 2009-2011 | 33 | 1a: 7 (21.21) | 3a: 25 (75.76) | 1 (3.03) | Type-specific primer | Rafiei | [244] | |||
Haemophilia | Fars | South | 2009-2012 | 8 | 1: 5 (62.5) | 3: 1 (12.5) | 2 (25.0) | Real-time PCR | Jamalidoust | [231] | |||
Haemophilia | Ahvaz | South-West | 2008-2009 | 42 | 1a: 26 (61.9) | 3a: 5 (11.9) | Genotype specific primers | Assarehzadegan | [131] | ||||
1b: 11 (26.1) | |||||||||||||
Haemophilia | Markazi | West-Center | 2004 | 22 | 1: 6 (27.3) | 2: 1 (4.54) | 3a: 4 (18.2) | 6 (27.3) | LiPA | Samimi-Rad | [128] | ||
1a: 3 (13.6) | |||||||||||||
1b: 2 (9.1) | |||||||||||||
IDUs | Mazandaran | North | 2009-2011 | 37 | 1a: 11 (29.73) | 3a: 5 (13.51) | 11 (29.73) | Type-specific primer | Rafiei | [244] | |||
1b: 10 (27.03) | |||||||||||||
IDUs | Tehran | North-Center | 2008-2009 | 36 | 1a: 9 (25) | 3a: 21 (58.3 ) | Type-specific primers | Ranjbar Kermani | [246] | ||||
1b: 6 (16.7) | |||||||||||||
IDUs | Fars | South | 2009-2012 | 550 | 1: 283 (51.5) | 3: 192 (34.9) | 8 (12.2) | 67 (12.2) | Real-time PCR | Jamalidoust | [231] | ||
IDUs | Tehran | North-Center | 2008-2009 | 83 | 1a: 35 (42) | 3a: 48 (58.0) | Sequencing | Samimi-Rad | [247] | ||||
Haemodialysis | Mazandaran | North | 2009-2011 | 31 | 1a: 6 (19.36) | 3a: 24 (77.42) | 1 (3.22) | Type-specific primer | Rafiei | [244] | |||
Haemodialysis | Markazi | West-Center | 2005 | 8 | 1a: 4 (50) | 3a: 1 (12.5) | 4: 2 (25) | LiPA | Samimi-Rad | [102] | |||
1b: 1 (12.5) | |||||||||||||
Haemodialysis | Fars | South | 2009-2012 | 6 | 1: 4 (66.7) | 4: 1(16.7) | 1 (16.7) | Real-time PCR | Jamalidoust | [231] | |||
Haemodialysis | East Azerbaijan | North-West | 2006 | 55 | 1a: 42 (76.4) | 3a: 3 (5.5) | 1 (1.8) | 4 (10.9) | Type-specific primer | somi | [248] | ||
1b: 3 (5.5) | |||||||||||||
Haemodialysis | Gilan | North | 2008 | 32 | 1a: 19 (59.4) | 3a: 13 (40.6) | Genotype-specific primers | Joukar | [101] | ||||
Haemodialysis | Tehran | North-Center | 2004 | 66 | 1a: 19 (28.8) | 3a: 20 (30.3) | 4:11(16.7) | 2 (3.0) | RFLP | Hosseini-Moghaddam | [249] | ||
1b: 12 (18.2) | 3b: 2 (3.0) | ||||||||||||
HIV/HCV co-infection | Shiraz | South | 2004-2005 | 50 | 1a: 20 (40) | 3a: 17 (34.0) | RFLP | Davarpanah | [250] | ||||
1b: 13 (26) | |||||||||||||
Occult HCV infected patients | Tehran | North-Center | 2007-2010 | 7 | 1a: 2 (29) | 3a: 2 (29.0) | RFLP | Bokharaei-Salim | [251] | ||||
1b: 3 (43) |
Distribution of HCV genotypes in Iran is different from other Middle Eastern countries with predominant genotype 4, but it is similar to the pattern seen in North America, with predominant genotypes 1, 2, and 3[4]. Genotype 2 is generally uncommon in Iran, therefore, the genotypic pattern differs from the United States, Europe, and Asia but is similar to Pakistan and India, where genotype 2 is very rare[226,229]. Genotype 4 is uncommon in Iran and only seen in special patient groups[226]. A similar pattern regarding genotype 4 is seen in Europe, the United States, and India. However, due to changes in immigration patterns, the prevalence of genotype 4 is increasing in western countries in recent years (Table 9)[4,229,230]. Overall, the worldwide distribution of HCV genotypes shows that the genotypes 1, 2, and 3 have a global prevalence, while genotypes 4, 5, and 6 have a restricted prevalence[4,226,229,231].
Region/country | Predominant genotype/subtype | Uncommon genotype/subtype |
Latin America | ||
Peru | 1a | 2 |
Chile and Colombia | 1b | 2, 1a |
Brazil | 1b, 1a, 3 | 4, 2 |
Argentina | 1b, 2, 1a | 4 |
North America | ||
United States | 1a, 1b, 2 | 4, 3 |
Canada | 1a, 3, 1b | 4 |
Central Europe | ||
Albania | 1b, 2, 4 | 1a, 3 |
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czech Republic and Croatia | 1b, 3 | 4, 2, 1a |
Hungary | 1b, 1a | 2, 4 |
Romania | 1b | 3, 4 |
Western Europe | ||
Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, Spain and France | 1b, 3, 1a | 5, 2, 4 |
Italy | 1b, 2 | 5, 3, 4 |
United Kingdom and Denmark | 3, 1a | 2 |
Eastern Europe | ||
Russia, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia | 1b, 3 | 1a, 2 |
Central Africa | 4 | 2 |
South Africa | 5 | 2 |
West Africa | ||
Guinea-Bissau, Ghana and Burkina Faso | 2 | 1 |
East Africa | ||
Ethiopia | 4, 2 | 1 |
North Africa | ||
Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria | 1b, 2 | 4 |
Middle East | ||
Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Yemen, Kuwait, Qatar, Iraq and Egypt | 4 | 1, 3, 2 |
Jordan | 1a, 1b, 4 | - |
Iran | 1a, 3a, 1b | 4, 2 |
Turkey | 1b | 4, 2, 3, 1a |
Asia Pacific | ||
Japan and Korea | 1b, 2 | 1a |
Asia, Central | ||
Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Georgia | 1b | 1a |
East Asia | ||
China, Taiwan | 1b, 2 | 1a, 3, 6 |
South East Asia | ||
Laos | 6 | 1 |
Philippines | 1a, 2 | 6, 4 |
Thailand | 3 | 2 |
Myanmar | 6 | 2 |
Malaysia | 3 | 4 |
South Asia | ||
Pakistan and India | 3 | 1b, 2, 4 |
Australasia | ||
Australia and New Zealand | 3, 1a, 1b | 4, 2 |
Different HCV genotypes may be associated with particular patient groups. Therefore, the genotypic patterns can be used to trace the routes of transmission[4]. Genotype 1 is more prevalent among thalassemia, hemophilia, hemodialysis, and solid organ recipient patients[231]. Subtype 1b is prevalent in individuals with a history of hospitalization, surgery, blood transfusion, and alcohol consumption[226]. Subtype 1a is frequently found in infection by blood and blood products[228]. High frequency of genotypes 3a and 1a are seen among IDUs in Iran[228], which is similar to the genotypic pattern among IDUs in Europe and the United States[226]. Genotype 4 is found in patients undergoing hemodialysis and piercing[226,228]. This might be due to communication by dialysis during the Hajj ceremony in Saudi Arabia[4]. The mixed infection with two or more genotypes is more common in patients with hemophilia and thalassemia and may lead to chronic infection, more severe disease, re-infection, and poor response to therapy[2,4].
There has been a shift in the distribution pattern of HCV genotypes over time[4,6,232]. Genotype 1a is the most prevalent genotype in Iran, but in recent years, an increase in the frequency of 3a and a decrease in 1a and 1b have been reported among HCV-infected patients in Iran. Genotype 1 with subtypes 1a and 1b are more prevalent in older patients and genotype 3a in younger patients and IDUs[4,228,232]. Therefore, it seems that injection drug use has contributed to the majority of new HCV infections in Iran[4,232].
Distribution of HCV genotypes is variable in different groups and geographic regions of Iran. This genotypic variability reflects differences in the routes of transmission, population and socioeconomic factors, and the presence of risk factors in the society. Thus, some genotypes are more frequent in certain regions or groups of patients[4,232]. Studies on the molecular epidemiology of HCV in Iran are needed to reveal the current genotypic pattern of HCV infection in the country[228], which can predict the dose, duration, and type of treatment as well as clinical outcome of the infection[2,228-231].
Occult HCV infection is described by the absence of detectable HCV-RNA and anti-HCV antibodies in serum or plasma with elevated liver enzymes or by the presence of anti-HCV antibodies but undetectable levels of HCV-RNA in serum or plasma with normal levels of liver enzymes[252-254]. In both cases, HCV-RNA is detectable in 100% of liver biopsy, up to 70% of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) specimens, and in nearly 60% of ultracentrifugated serum samples of infected patients[255]. Occult HCV can persist and replicate in hepatocytes and lymphoid cells for a long time even after an apparently spontaneous eradication or therapy-induced resolution of HCV infection[256]. In this condition, low copy numbers of HCV RNA are present in serum while it cannot be detected by conventional RT-PCR assays but remains potentially infectious[253,254].
Distribution of occult HCV infection has been reported all around the world, and it seems that all genotypes are involved in this infection[253]. A few studies are available regarding the prevalence of occult HCV in Iran. Bokharaei-Salim et al[251] found occult HCV in 10% (7/69) of patients with cryptogenic liver disease in Iran, while 43%, 29%, and 29% of these patients had genotypes 1b, 1a and 3a, respectively. Keyvani et al[257] described 8.9% occult HCV infection with genotypes 3a (50%) and 1b (50%) in patients with cryptogenic cirrhosis in Iran. Farahani et al[258] found 1.9% occult HCV infection with genotype 1a in patients with lymphoproliferative disorders in Iran. Makvandi et al[259] reported 32% occult HCV infection in patients with abnormal levels of alanine aminotransferase in Ahvaz city. Rezaee Zavareh et al[260] reported the absence of HCV-RNA in PBMC samples of 53 patients with autoimmune hepatitis in Iran. Ramezani et al[261], reported the absence of occult HCV infection in 30 hemodialysis patients in Tehran.
Occult HCV infection has also been found in apparently healthy populations[253,255]. The possible presence of occult HCV infection in the general population or blood donors poses a real concern about undetectable transmission of HCV[255,262]. In a recent study in Italy, the prevalence of occult HCV infection was higher than the frequency of anti-HCV seropositivity in the general population[262]. Therefore, the prevalence of HCV infection may be underestimated in the society[253,255], and the risk of HCV transmission through blood donation may be higher than predicted. Although screening of blood reduces the risk of HCV transmission by blood transfusion, transmission of occult HCV cannot be prevented in this way[253,255].
Currently, the prevalence of occult HCV infection in the general population of Iran and even blood donors is unknown. Therefore, further studies on the prevalence and significance of occult HCV in different cities are needed to identify the real burden of this infection in the country and subsequently in healthy subjects, especially among blood donors, to prevent the most of unknown transmission of HCV.
HCV infects large proportion of the high-risk populations in almost all regions of Iran and has a role in occurrence of different immunological disorders and even malignancies. The distribution patterns of HCV infection are related to different status of public health and the presence of risk factors in the society. Available estimates emphasize that injecting drug use is the most important risk factor for HCV infection in Iran and due to the growth in the number of injecting drug users, the prevalence of HCV infection is growing in the country. In addition, it seems that injection drug use has contributed to the occurrence of the majority of new HCV infections in Iran. Even the recent changes in the distribution pattern of HCV genotypes in Iranian patients confirm this issue. In fact, the predominance of risk factors for transmission of HCV has changed over time, from blood transfusion to intravenous drug use. The possible presence of occult HCV infection among the apparently healthy general population or blood donors proposes a real concern about undetectable transmission of HCV. Therefore, it seems that the prevalence of HCV infection will increase in near future not only among high-risk groups but even in the general population and blood donors of Iran. However, by breaking the cycle of infection among drug users, the rate of HCV infection will decrease. To approach this goal, efforts to screen, prevent, and treat HCV infection as well as reduce the high-risk behaviors are required.
We would like to express our sincere thanks to Manoochehr Makvandi, PhD, professor, Infectious and Tropical Disease Research Center, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, for editing the manuscript.
P- Reviewer: Hu ZJ, Lo SY, Stahmeyer JT S- Editor: Yu J L- Editor: Filipodia E- Editor: Ma S
1. | Wang Y. Scotomas in molecular virology and epidemiology of hepatitis C virus. World J Gastroenterol. 2013;19:7910-7921. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in CrossRef: 7] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 8] [Article Influence: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis (1)] |
2. | Bokharaei Salim F, Keyvani H, Amiri A, Jahanbakhsh Sefidi F, Shakeri R, Zamani F. Distribution of different hepatitis C virus genotypes in patients with hepatitis C virus infection. World J Gastroenterol. 2010;16:2005-2009. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in CrossRef: 24] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 24] [Article Influence: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
3. | El-Shamy A, Hotta H. Impact of hepatitis C virus heterogeneity on interferon sensitivity: an overview. World J Gastroenterol. 2014;20:7555-7569. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in CrossRef: 35] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 32] [Article Influence: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
4. | Khodabandehloo M, Roshani D. Prevalence of hepatitis C virus genotypes in Iranian patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Hepat Mon. 2014;14:e22915. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 25] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 36] [Article Influence: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
5. | Alter MJ. Epidemiology of hepatitis C virus infection. World J Gastroenterol. 2007;13:2436-2441. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in CrossRef: 838] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 815] [Article Influence: 47.9] [Reference Citation Analysis (2)] |
6. | Andalibalshohada A, Rezaii SA, Abedi F. HCV prevalence and predominant genotype in IV drug users. Rev Clin Med. 2014;1:200-206. [Cited in This Article: ] |
7. | Alter MJ. HCV routes of transmission: what goes around comes around. Semin Liver Dis. 2011;31:340-346. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 63] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 69] [Article Influence: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
8. | Shaheen MA, Idrees M. Evidence-based consensus on the diagnosis, prevention and management of hepatitis C virus disease. World J Hepatol. 2015;7:616-627. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 26] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 21] [Article Influence: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis (1)] |
9. | Zobeiri M, Adibi P, Alavian SM. Intravenous drug use and hepatitis C virus in iran. Hepat Mon. 2012;12:9-10. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 5] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 9] [Article Influence: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
10. | Shepard CW, Finelli L, Alter MJ. Global epidemiology of hepatitis C virus infection. Lancet Infect Dis. 2005;5:558-567. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 1927] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 1904] [Article Influence: 100.2] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
11. | Alavian S, Fallahian F. Epidemiology of Hepatitis C in Iran and the World. Shiraz E Medical J. 2009;10:162-172. [Cited in This Article: ] |
12. | Westbrook RH, Dusheiko G. Natural history of hepatitis C. J Hepatol. 2014;61:S58-S68. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 552] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 588] [Article Influence: 58.8] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
13. | Wilkins T, Malcolm JK, Raina D, Schade RR. Hepatitis C: diagnosis and treatment. Am Fam Physician. 2010;81:1351-1357. [PubMed] [Cited in This Article: ] |
14. | WHO. Hepatitis C, WHO fact sheet No. 164, updated April. 2014; Available from: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs164/en/. [Cited in This Article: ] |
15. | Jamali R. Epidemiologic Studies on Viral Hepatitis: A Short Review. Thrita. 2014;3:e15376. [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 5] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 5] [Article Influence: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
16. | Mohd Hanafiah K, Groeger J, Flaxman AD, Wiersma ST. Global epidemiology of hepatitis C virus infection: new estimates of age-specific antibody to HCV seroprevalence. Hepatology. 2013;57:1333-1342. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 1770] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 1804] [Article Influence: 164.0] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
17. | Wedemeyer H, Dore GJ, Ward JW. Estimates on HCV disease burden worldwide - filling the gaps. J Viral Hepat. 2015;22 Suppl 1:1-5. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 86] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 86] [Article Influence: 9.6] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
18. | Te HS, Jensen DM. Epidemiology of hepatitis B and C viruses: a global overview. Clin Liver Dis. 2010;14:1-21, vii. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 304] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 319] [Article Influence: 22.8] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
19. | Pawlotsky JM, Feld JJ, Zeuzem S, Hoofnagle JH. From non-A, non-B hepatitis to hepatitis C virus cure. J Hepatol. 2015;62:S87-S99. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 240] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 242] [Article Influence: 26.9] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
20. | Barth H. Hepatitis C virus: Is it time to say goodbye yet? Perspectives and challenges for the next decade. World J Hepatol. 2015;7:725-737. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 43] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 38] [Article Influence: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
21. | Hajiaghamohammadi A, Samimi R, Miroliaee A, Kazemifar AM, Nazem M. Treatment outcome in chronic hepatitis C infection: a four years survey among Iranian patients. Glob J Health Sci. 2015;7:75-81. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 2] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 2] [Article Influence: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
22. | Ravi S, Nasiri Toosi M, Karimzadeh I, Ahadi-Barzoki M, Khalili H. Adherence to chronic hepatitis C treatment regimen: first report from a referral center in iran. Hepat Mon. 2013;13:e11038. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 2] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 5] [Article Influence: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
23. | Jabbari H, Zamani F, Hatami K, Sheikholeslami A, Fakharzadeh E, Shahzamani K, Zamini H, Merat S, Malekzadeh R, Sharfi AH. Pegaferon in hepatitis C: Results of a Multicenter Study. Middle East J Dig Dis. 2011;3:110-114. [PubMed] [Cited in This Article: ] |
24. | Namazee N, Sali S, Asadi S, Shafiei M, Behnava B, Alavian SM. Real response to therapy in chronic hepatitis C virus patients: a study from iran. Hepat Mon. 2012;12:e6151. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 20] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 24] [Article Influence: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
25. | WHO. Guidelines for the screening, care and treatment of persons with hepatitis C infection; Updated April 2014. Available from: http://www.who.int/hiv/pub/hepatitis/hepatitis-c-guidelines/en/. [Cited in This Article: ] |
26. | Zidan A, Scheuerlein H, Schüle S, Settmacher U, Rauchfuss F. Epidemiological pattern of hepatitis B and hepatitis C as etiological agents for hepatocellular carcinoma in iran and worldwide. Hepat Mon. 2012;12:e6894. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 19] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 41] [Article Influence: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
27. | Alavian SM, Adibi P, Zali MR. Hepatitis C virus in Iran: Epidemiology of an emerging infection. Arch Iranian Med. 2005;8:84-90. [Cited in This Article: ] |
28. | Khodabandehloo M, Roshani D, Sayehmiri K. Prevalence and trend of hepatitis C virus infection among blood donors in Iran: A systematic review and meta-analysis. J Res Med Sci. 2013;18:674-682. [PubMed] [Cited in This Article: ] |
29. | Kafi-abad SA, Rezvan H, Abolghasemi H, Talebian A. Prevalence and trends of human immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis B virus, and hepatitis C virus among blood donors in Iran, 2004 through 2007. Transfusion. 2009;49:2214-2220. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 63] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 78] [Article Influence: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
30. | Fallahian F, Najafi A. Epidemiology of hepatitis C in the Middle East. Saudi J Kidney Dis Transpl. 2011;22:1-9. [PubMed] [Cited in This Article: ] |
31. | Mohamoud YA, Mumtaz GR, Riome S, Miller D, Abu-Raddad LJ. The epidemiology of hepatitis C virus in Egypt: a systematic review and data synthesis. BMC Infect Dis. 2013;13:288. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 234] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 236] [Article Influence: 21.5] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
32. | Dehesa-Violante M, Nuñez-Nateras R. Epidemiology of hepatitis virus B and C. Arch Med Res. 2007;38:606-611. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 42] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 46] [Article Influence: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
33. | Wasley A, Alter MJ. Epidemiology of hepatitis C: geographic differences and temporal trends. Semin Liver Dis. 2000;20:1-16. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 682] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 724] [Article Influence: 31.5] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
34. | Soldan K, Davison K, Dow B. Estimates of the frequency of HBV, HCV, and HIV infectious donations entering the blood supply in the United Kingdom, 1996 to 2003. Euro Surveill. 2005;10:17-19. [PubMed] [Cited in This Article: ] |
35. | Khedmat H, Fallahian F, Abolghasemi H, Alavian SM, Hajibeigi B, Miri SM, Jafari AM. Seroepidemiologic study of hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, human immunodeficiency virus and syphilis infections in Iranian blood donors. Pak J Biol Sci. 2007;10:4461-4466. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 18] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 19] [Article Influence: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
36. | Taheri Azbarmi Z, Nouri S, Joukar F, Jafarshad R, Haajikarimian K, Alinejad S, Abdollahzadeh Estakhari GH, Mansour Ghanaei F. Transfusion transmitted diseases in Rasht blood donors (in Persian). Sci J Iran Blood Transfus Org. 2008;4:337-343. [Cited in This Article: ] |
37. | Mansour-Ghanaei F, Fallah M, Jafarshad R, Joukar F, Salari A, Tavafzadeh R. Prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen and hepatitis C virus antibody and their risk factors among Guilan’s volunteer blood donors (1998-2003). Hepat Mon. 2007;7:239-241. [Cited in This Article: ] |
38. | Bani Aghil SS, Abbasi S, Arab M, Seyedein MS. The Prevalence of HCV, HBV, HIV in Blood Donors of Golestan Province,(2006-2008) (in Persian). Med Laboratory J. 2010;3:1-5. [Cited in This Article: ] |
39. | Khedmat H, Alavian SM, Miri SM, Amini M, Abolghasemi H, Hajibeigi B, Alaeddini F, Fallahian F. Trends in seroprevalence of hepatitis B, hepatitis C, HIV, and syphilis infections in Iranian blood donors from 2003 to 2005. Hepat Mon. 2009;9:24-28. [Cited in This Article: ] |
40. | Attarchi Z, Ghafouri M, Hajibaygi B, Assari S, SM A. Donor deferral and blood-borne infections in blood donors of Tehran (in Persian). Sci J Iran Blood Transfus Org. 2006;2:353-364. [Cited in This Article: ] |
41. | Bozorgi S, Ahmadzad Asl M, Ramezani H, Kargarfard H, S A. Study of viral infections prevalence in blood donors of Qazvin province in different time intervals and during Bam earthquake (in Persian). Govaresh. 2006;11:242-248. [Cited in This Article: ] |
42. | Mahdaviani F, Saremi S, Maghsoudlu M, AA P. Prevalence of blood transmitted viral infections in regular and non-regular donors of Arak Blood Center (in Persian). Sci J Iran Blood Transfus Org. 2006;2:343-351. [Cited in This Article: ] |
43. | Bozorgi SH, Ramezani H, Nooranipour M, Ahmadi M, Baghernejad A, Mostajeri A, Kargar-Fard H, Sadri M, Alavian SM. Risk factors of viral hepatitis: yet to explore. Transfus Apher Sci. 2012;47:145-149. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 10] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 12] [Article Influence: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
44. | Afzali H, Ardakani AT, Vali GR. Seroepidemiology of hepatitis B and C in blood donors in Kashan, 1996-2001 (in Persian). FEYZ. 2002;6:43-50. [Cited in This Article: ] |
45. | Moniri R, Mosayebii Z, Mossavi G. Seroprevalence of cytomegalovirus, hepatitis B, hepatitis C and human immunodeficiency virus antibodies among volunteer blood donors. Iran J Public Health. 2004;33:38-42. [Cited in This Article: ] |
46. | Karimi A, Hoseini SM. Seroprevalence of hepatitis B and C virus and HIV markers among blood donors from Shahre-Kord, Iran (2004-2006). Kuwait Med J. 2008;40:279-281. [Cited in This Article: ] |
47. | Masaeli Z, Jaberi M, Magsudlu M. A comparison of seroprevalence of blood-borne infections among regular, sporadic, and first-time blood donors in Isfahan (in Persian). Sci J Iran Blood Transfus Org. 2006;2:301-307. [Cited in This Article: ] |
48. | Esmaieli H, Hajiani G, Mankhian A, Poumehdi Broujeni M. Seroepidemiological survey of hepatitis B, C, HIV and syphilis among blood donors in Bushehr-Iran (in Persian). ISMJ. 2009;11:183-190. [Cited in This Article: ] |
49. | Ghavanini AA, Sabri MR. Hepatitis B surface antigen and anti-hepatitis C antibodies among blood donors in the Islamic Republic of Iran. East Mediterr Health J. 2000;6:1114-1116. [PubMed] [Cited in This Article: ] |
50. | Emamghorashi F, Fathi G, Mohtashami A. Evaluation of demographic characteristics and hepatitis B, C and HIV prevalence among blood donors in Jahrom (in Persian). SJIBTO. 2006;2:373-378. [Cited in This Article: ] |
51. | Kasraian L, Torab Jahromi SA. Prevalence of Major Transfusion-Transmissible Viral Infections in Blood Donors Attending Fars Blood Transfusion Center, Shiraz, Southern Iran: 2002-2005. Iran J Med Sci. 2007;32:114-117. [Cited in This Article: ] |
52. | Kasraian L, Tavassoli A. Prevalence of hepatitis C and its risk factors in blood donors at Shiraz transfusion center (in Persian). Koomesh. 2008;10:7-12. [Cited in This Article: ] |
53. | Delavari M, Tabatabaei SM. Frequency of hepatitis C and its related factors in blood donors in Kerman in 2003 (in Persian). JAUMS. 2004;2:323-358. [Cited in This Article: ] |
54. | Tajbakhsh E, Yaghobi R, Vahedi AR. A serological survey on hepatitis C virus Antibody in blood donors with an ELISA method (in Persian). Tehran Univ Med J. 2007;65:69-73. [Cited in This Article: ] |
55. | Doosti A, Amini-Bavil-Olyaee S, Tajbakhsh E, Adeli A, Mahboudi F. Prevalence of viral hepatitis and molecular analysis of HBV among voluntary blood donors in west Iran. New Microbiol. 2009;32:193-198. [PubMed] [Cited in This Article: ] |
56. | Ghafouri M, Ameli M. Comparing prevalence of transfusion transmitted viral infections in various population groups of South Khorasan (in Persian). Sci J Iran Blood Transfus Org. 2011;7:242-248. [Cited in This Article: ] |
57. | Merat S, Poustchi H. Hepatitis C in Iran. How extensive of a problem is it? Arch Iran Med. 2012;15:268. [PubMed] [Cited in This Article: ] |
58. | Merat S, Rezvan H, Nouraie M, Jafari E, Abolghasemi H, Radmard AR, Zaer-rezaii H, Amini-Kafiabad S, Maghsudlu M, Pourshams A. Seroprevalence of hepatitis C virus: the first population-based study from Iran. Int J Infect Dis. 2010;14 Suppl 3:e113-e116. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 78] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 85] [Article Influence: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
59. | Karoney MJ, Siika AM. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in Africa: a review. Pan Afr Med J. 2013;14:44. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 27] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 68] [Article Influence: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
60. | Zamani F, Sohrabi M, Poustchi H, Keyvani H, Saeedian FS, Ajdarkosh H, Khoonsari M, Hemmasi G, Moradilakeh M, Motamed N. Prevalence and risk factors of hepatitis C virus infection in amol city, north of iran: a population-based study (2008-2011). Hepat Mon. 2013;13:e13313. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 17] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 24] [Article Influence: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
61. | Mansour-Ghanaei F, Fallah M, Jafarshad R, Joukar F, Pourtahmasbi A, Bahari-Moghaddam A. Seroprevalence of hepatitis B and C among residents of Guilan Nursing Home. Hepat Mon. 2007;7:139-141. [Cited in This Article: ] |
62. | Shakeri MT, Nomani H, Ghayour Mobarhan M, Sima HR, Gerayli S, Shahbazi S, Rostami S, Meshkat Z. The prevalence of hepatitis C virus in mashhad, iran: a population-based study. Hepat Mon. 2013;13:e7723. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 17] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 26] [Article Influence: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
63. | Ghadir M, Jafari E, Amiriani M, Rezvan H, Aminikafiabad S, Pourshams A. Hepatitis C in Golestan province-Iran (in Persian). Govaresh. 2006;11:158-162. [Cited in This Article: ] |
64. | Motlagh M, Makvandi M, Jalali M. Prevalence of anti-HCV among pregnant women (in Persian). J Qazvin Univ Med Sci. 2001;18:59-63. [Cited in This Article: ] |
65. | Nikbakht R, Saadati N, Firoozian F. Prevalence of HBsAg, HCV and HIV Antibodies Among Infertile Couples in Ahvaz, South-West Iran. Jundishapur J Microbiol. 2012;5:393-397. [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 4] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 4] [Article Influence: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
66. | Moradi A, Mohagheghi AH, Shahraki S, Borji A, Marjani A, Sanei-Moghadam E, Kalavi K-B, Zangi-Abadi M. Seroepidemiology of Rubella, Measles, HBV, HCV and B19 Virus Within Women in Child Bearing Ages (Saravan City of Sistan and Bloochastan Province). Res J Microbiol. 2007;2:289-293. [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 2] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 2] [Article Influence: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
67. | Sayad B, Shamsedin-Saeed F, Keyvani H, Rezaii M, Asadi T, Vaziri S, Janbakhsh A, Mansouri F, Afsharian M, Laghaii Z. Seroepidemiology of hepatitis C in Kermanshah (West of Iran, 2006). Hepat Mon. 2008;8:141-146. [Cited in This Article: ] |
68. | Mohebbi SR, Sanati A, Cheraghipour K, Rostami Nejad M, Shalmani HM, Zali MR. Hepatitis C and hepatitis B virus infection: epidemiology and risk factors in a large cohort of pregnant women in Lorestan, West of Iran. Hepat Mon. 2011;11:736-739. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 9] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 24] [Article Influence: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
69. | Aceijas C, Rhodes T. Global estimates of prevalence of HCV infection among injecting drug users. Int J Drug Policy. 2007;18:352-358. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 237] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 239] [Article Influence: 14.1] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
70. | Honarvar B, Odoomi N, Moghadami M, Afsar Kazerooni P, Hassanabadi A, Zare Dolatabadi P, Farzanfar E, Lankarani KB. Blood-borne hepatitis in opiate users in iran: a poor outlook and urgent need to change nationwide screening policy. PLoS One. 2013;8:e82230. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 18] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 15] [Article Influence: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
71. | Nelson PK, Mathers BM, Cowie B, Hagan H, Des Jarlais D, Horyniak D, Degenhardt L. Global epidemiology of hepatitis B and hepatitis C in people who inject drugs: results of systematic reviews. Lancet. 2011;378:571-583. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 949] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 943] [Article Influence: 72.5] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
72. | Mohtasham Amiri Z, Rezvani M, Jafari Shakib R, Jafari Shakib A. Prevalence of hepatitis C virus infection and risk factors of drug using prisoners in Guilan province. East Mediterr Health J. 2007;13:250-256. [PubMed] [Cited in This Article: ] |
73. | Rahimi-Movaghar A, Razaghi EM, Sahimi-Izadian E, Amin-Esmaeili M. HIV, hepatitis C virus, and hepatitis B virus co-infections among injecting drug users in Tehran, Iran. Int J Infect Dis. 2010;14:e28-e33. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 57] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 64] [Article Influence: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
74. | Hosseini M, SeyedAlinaghi S, Kheirandish P, Esmaeli Javid G, Shirzad H, Karami N, Jahani M, Seyed Ahmadian M, Payvarmehr F, Mohraz M. Prevalence and correlates of co-infection with human immunodeficiency virus and hepatitis C virus in male injection drug users in Iran. Arch Iran Med. 2010;13:318-323. [PubMed] [Cited in This Article: ] |
75. | Zali MR, Aghazadeh R, Nowroozi A, Amir-Rasouly H. Anti-HCV antibody among Iranian IV drug users: is it a serious problem. Arch Iran Med. 2001;4:115-119. [Cited in This Article: ] |
76. | Zamani S, Ichikawa S, Nassirimanesh B, Vazirian M, Ichikawa K, Gouya MM, Afshar P, Ono-Kihara M, Ravari SM, Kihara M. Prevalence and correlates of hepatitis C virus infection among injecting drug users in Tehran. Int J Drug Policy. 2007;18:359-363. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 64] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 61] [Article Influence: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
77. | Hajinasrollah A, Yeganeh R, Salehi N, Saheh M, Khoshkar A, Malekpour F, Ghaseminejad A, Hojati M. Prevalence of HIV, Hepatitis B, and Hepatitis C in Drug Abuser in Loghman Medical Center (in Persian). IJS. 2006;13:89-94. [Cited in This Article: ] |
78. | Amin-Esmaeili M, Rahimi-Movaghar A, Razaghi EM, Baghestani AR, Jafari S. Factors Correlated With Hepatitis C and B Virus Infections Among Injecting Drug Users in Tehran, IR Iran. Hepat Mon. 2012;12:23-31. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 9] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 21] [Article Influence: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
79. | Nokhodian Z, Meshkati M, Adibi P, Ataei B, Kassaian N, Yaran M, Shoaei P, Hassannejad R. Hepatitis C among Intravenous Drug Users in Isfahan, Iran: a Study of Seroprevalence and Risk Factors. Int J Prev Med. 2012;3:S131-S138. [PubMed] [Cited in This Article: ] |
80. | Zamani S, Radfar R, Nematollahi P, Fadaie R, Meshkati M, Mortazavi S, Sedaghat A, Ono-Kihara M, Kihara M. Prevalence of HIV/HCV/HBV infections and drug-related risk behaviours amongst IDUs recruited through peer-driven sampling in Iran. Int J Drug Policy. 2010;21:493-500. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 35] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 36] [Article Influence: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
81. | Kassaian N, Adibi P, Kafashaian A, Yaran M, Nokhodian Z, Shoaei P, Hassannejad R, Babak A, Ataei B. Hepatitis C Virus and Associated Risk Factors among Prison Inmates with History of Drug Injection in Isfahan, Iran. Int J Prev Med. 2012;3:S156-S161. [PubMed] [Cited in This Article: ] |
82. | Nobari RF, Meshkati M, Ataei B, Yazdani MR, Heidari K, Kassaian N, Nokhodian Z, Shoaei P, Yaran M, Adibi P. Identification of Patients with Hepatitis C Virus Infection in Persons with Background of Intravenous Drug Use: The First Community Announcement-based Study From Iran. Int J Prev Med. 2012;3:S170-S175. [PubMed] [Cited in This Article: ] |
83. | Sofian M, Aghakhani A, Banifazl M, Azadmanesh K, Farazi AA, McFarland W, Eslamifar A, Ramezani A. Viral hepatitis and HIV infection among injection drug users in a central Iranian City. J Addict Med. 2012;6:292-296. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 22] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 23] [Article Influence: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
84. | Ramezani A, Amirmoezi R, Volk JE, Aghakhani A, Zarinfar N, McFarland W, Banifazl M, Mostafavi E, Eslamifar A, Sofian M. HCV, HBV, and HIV seroprevalence, coinfections, and related behaviors among male injection drug users in Arak, Iran. AIDS Care. 2014;26:1122-1126. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 25] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 27] [Article Influence: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
85. | Davoodian P, Dadvand H, Mahoori K, Amoozandeh A, Salavati A. Prevalence of selected sexually and blood-borne infections in Injecting drug abuser inmates of bandar abbas and roodan correction facilities, Iran, 2002. Braz J Infect Dis. 2009;13:356-358. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 25] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 27] [Article Influence: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
86. | Sarkari B, Eilami O, Khosravani A, Sharifi A, Tabatabaee M, Fararouei M. High prevalence of hepatitis C infection among high risk groups in Kohgiloyeh and Boyerahmad Province, Southwest Iran. Arch Iran Med. 2012;15:271-274. [PubMed] [Cited in This Article: ] |
87. | Imani R, Karimi A, Rouzbahani R, Rouzbahani A. Seroprevalence of HBV, HCV and HIV infection among intravenous drug users in Shahr-e-Kord, Islamic Republic of Iran. East Mediterr Health J. 2008;14:1136-1141. [PubMed] [Cited in This Article: ] |
88. | Alavi SM, Behdad F. Seroprevalence study of hepatitis C and Hepatitis B virus among hospitalized intravenous drug users in Ahvaz, Iran (2002-2006). Hepat Mon. 2010;10:101-104. [PubMed] [Cited in This Article: ] |
89. | Mohammad Alizadeh AH, Alavian SM, Jafari K, Yazdi N. Prevalence of hepatitis C virus infection and its related risk factors in drug abuser prisoners in Hamedan--Iran. World J Gastroenterol. 2005;11:4085-4089. [PubMed] [Cited in This Article: ] |
90. | Keramat F, Eini P, Majzoobi MM. Seroprevalence of HIV, HBV and HCV in Persons Referred to Hamadan Behavioral Counseling Center, West of Iran. Iran Red Crescent Med J. 2011;13:42-46. [PubMed] [Cited in This Article: ] |
91. | Souqiyyeh MZ, Al-Attar MB, Zakaria H, Shaheen FA. Dialysis centers in the kingdom of saudi arabia. Saudi J Kidney Dis Transpl. 2001;12:293-304. [PubMed] [Cited in This Article: ] |
92. | Saxena AK, Panhotra BR. The impact of nurse understaffing on the transmission of hepatitis C virus in a hospital-based hemodialysis unit. Med Princ Pract. 2004;13:129-135. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 33] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 35] [Article Influence: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
93. | Bdour S. Hepatitis C virus infection in Jordanian haemodialysis units: serological diagnosis and genotyping. J Med Microbiol. 2002;51:700-704. [PubMed] [Cited in This Article: ] |
94. | Khokhar N, Alam AY, Naz F, Mahmud SN. Risk factors for hepatitis C virus infection in patients on long-term hemodialysis. J Coll Physicians Surg Pak. 2005;15:326-328. [PubMed] [Cited in This Article: ] |
95. | Amin J, Gidding H, Gilbert G, Backhouse J, Kaldor J, Dore G, Burgess M. Hepatitis C prevalence--a nationwide serosurvey. Commun Dis Intell Q Rep. 2004;28:517-521. [PubMed] [Cited in This Article: ] |
96. | Fissell RB, Bragg-Gresham JL, Woods JD, Jadoul M, Gillespie B, Hedderwick SA, Rayner HC, Greenwood RN, Akiba T, Young EW. Patterns of hepatitis C prevalence and seroconversion in hemodialysis units from three continents: the DOPPS. Kidney Int. 2004;65:2335-2342. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 309] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 304] [Article Influence: 15.2] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
97. | Qadi AA, Tamim H, Ameen G, Bu-Ali A, Al-Arrayed S, Fawaz NA, Almawi WY. Hepatitis B and hepatitis C virus prevalence among dialysis patients in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia: a survey by serologic and molecular methods. Am J Infect Control. 2004;32:493-495. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 29] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 32] [Article Influence: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
98. | Alavian SM. Hepatitis C infection in Iran: A review article. Iran J Clin Infect Dis. 2009;4:47-59. [Cited in This Article: ] |
99. | Makhlough A, Jamshidi M, Mahdavi MR. Hepatitis C prevalence studied by polymerase chain reaction and serological methods in haemodialysis patients in Mazandaran, Iran. Singapore Med J. 2008;49:921-923. [PubMed] [Cited in This Article: ] |
100. | Amiri ZM, Shakib AJ, Toorchi M. Seroprevalence of hepatitis C and risk factors in haemodialysis patients in Guilan, Islamic Republic of Iran. East Mediterr Health J. 2005;11:372-376. [PubMed] [Cited in This Article: ] |
101. | Joukar F, Khalesi AK, Jafarshad R, Rahimabadi MS, Mansour-Ghanaei F. Distribution of hepatitis C virus genotypes in haemodialysis patients of Guilan, northern Islamic Republic of Iran. East Mediterr Health J. 2012;18:236-240. [PubMed] [Cited in This Article: ] |
102. | Samimi-Rad K, Hosseini M. Hepatitis C virus infection and HCV genotypes of hemodialysis patients. Iran J Public Health. 2008;37:146-152. [Cited in This Article: ] |
103. | Bozorghi SH, Ramezany H, Vahid T, Mostajeri A, Karegharfard H, Rezayi M, Ashayeri N, Alaviyan SM. Assessment of prevalence and risk factors of hepatitis C virus infection in haemodialysis patients in Ghazvin (in Persian). Sci J Iran Blood Transfus Org. 2006;2:331-337. [Cited in This Article: ] |
104. | Somi MH, Etemadi J, Ghojazadeh M, Farhang S, Faramarzi M, Foroutan S, Soleimanpour M. Risk factors of HCV seroconversion in hemodialysis patients in tabriz, iran. Hepat Mon. 2014;14:e17417. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 9] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 19] [Article Influence: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
105. | Zahedi MJ, Darvish Moghaddam S, Alavian SM, Dalili M. Seroprevalence of Hepatitis Viruses B, C, D and HIV Infection Among Hemodialysis Patients in Kerman Province, South-East Iran. Hepat Mon. 2012;12:339-343. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 35] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 43] [Article Influence: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
106. | Kalantari H, Ebadi S, Yaran M, Maracy MR, Shahshahan Z. Prevalence and risk factors of hepatitis B and C viruses among hemodialysis patients in Isfahan, Iran. Adv Biomed Res. 2014;3:73. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 14] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 18] [Article Influence: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
107. | Zamani F, Ameli M, Razmjou S, Shakeri R, Amiri A, Darvish R. Incidence of hepatitis C infection in patients on hemodialysis: a multicenter study of northern part of Iran. Saudi J Kidney Dis Transpl. 2010;21:1169-1171. [PubMed] [Cited in This Article: ] |
108. | Assarehzadegan MA, Shakerinejad G, Noroozkohnejad R, Amini A, Rahim Rezaee SA. Prevalence of hepatitis C and B infection and HC V genotypes among hemodialysis patients in Khuzestan province, southwest Iran. Saudi J Kidney Dis Transpl. 2009;20:681-684. [PubMed] [Cited in This Article: ] |
109. | Nemati E, Alavian SM, Taheri S, Moradi M, Pourfarziani V, Einollahi B. Hepatitis C virus infection among patients on hemodialysis: a report from a single center in Iran. Saudi J Kidney Dis Transpl. 2009;20:147-153. [PubMed] [Cited in This Article: ] |
110. | Sotoudehjahromi A, Nejatollahi F, Hosseini MM. Prevalence of anti-HCV antibody in haemodialysis patients referring to haemodialysis unit of Jahrom (in Persian). Jahrom Medica. 2007;5:38-43. [Cited in This Article: ] |
111. | Alavian SM, Einollahi B, Hajarizadeh B, Bakhtiari S, Nafar M, Ahrabi S. Prevalence of hepatitis C virus infection and related risk factors among Iranian haemodialysis patients. Nephrology (Carlton). 2003;8:256-260. [PubMed] [Cited in This Article: ] |
112. | Broumand B, Shamshirsaz AA, Kamgar M, Hashemi R, Aiazi F, Bekheirnia M, Boozary N, Komeilian Z, Shamshirsaz AH, Tabatabaiee MR. Prevalence of hepatitis C infection and its risk factors in hemodialysis patients in tehran: preliminary report from “the effect of dialysis unit isolation on the incidence of hepatitis C in dialysis patients” project. Saudi J Kidney Dis Transpl. 2002;13:467-472. [PubMed] [Cited in This Article: ] |
113. | Nassiri-Toosi M, Larti F, Rasteh M, Foroutan H, Salarieh N, Lessan-Pezeshki M, Abdollahi A, Seifi S, Razeghi E, Rahbar M. Risk factors and seroprevalence of hepatitis B and C infections among hemodialysis patients in Tehran. Iran J Pathol. 2007;2:181-186. [Cited in This Article: ] |
114. | Mohammad-Alizadeh A, Ranjbar M, Seyfoleslami S. The frequency of hepatitis C in dialyse patients in Hamadan Ekbatan hospital (in Persian). Iran J Infect Dis Trop Med. 2002;7:27-34. [Cited in This Article: ] |
115. | Saboor B, Boroomand P, Mehrabi Y, Ghanbari M, Zarrinfam H. Prevalence and risk factors of hepatitis C infection in hemodialysis patients (Kermanshah, 1999-2000) (in Persian). Behbood. 2003;7:60-66. [Cited in This Article: ] |
116. | Jabbari A, Besharat S, Khodabakhshi B, Gorgan I. Hepatitis C in hemodialysis centers of Golestan province, northeast of Iran (2005). Hepat Mon. 2008;8:61-65. [Cited in This Article: ] |
117. | Ansari MHK, Omrani M. Evaluation of diagnostic value of ELISA method (EIA) & PCR in diagnosis of hepatitis C virus in hemodialysis patients. Hepatitis Monthly. 2006;6:19-23. [Cited in This Article: ] |
118. | Hassanshahi G, Arababadi MK, Assar S, Hakimi H, Karimabad MN, Abedinzadeh M, Rafatpanah H, Derakhshan R. Post-transfusion-transmitted hepatitis C virus infection: a study on thalassemia and hemodialysis patients in southeastern Iran. Arch Virol. 2011;156:1111-1115. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 9] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 10] [Article Influence: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
119. | Ansar MM, Kooloobandi A. Prevalence of hepatitis C virus infection in thalassemia and haemodialysis patients in north Iran-Rasht. J Viral Hepat. 2002;9:390-392. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 48] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 54] [Article Influence: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
120. | Mansour-Ghanaei F, Fallah MS, Shafaghi A, Yousefi-Mashhoor M, Ramezani N, Farzaneh F, Nassiri R. Prevalence of hepatitis B and C seromarkers and abnormal liver function tests among hemophiliacs in Guilan (northern province of Iran). Med Sci Monit. 2002;8:CR797-CR800. [PubMed] [Cited in This Article: ] |
121. | Torabi SA, Abedashtiani K, Dehkada R, Moghadam AN, Bahram M, Dolatkhah R, Babaei J, Taheri N. Prevalence of HCV, HBV and HIV in hemophiliac patients of East Azarbaijan in 2004 (in Persian). SJIBTO. 2006;2:291-299. [Cited in This Article: ] |
122. | Valizadeh N, Nateghi S, Noroozi M, Hejazi S, Aghanezhad F, Ali AA. Seroprevalence of hepatitis C, hepatitis B and HIV viruses in hemophiliacs born 1985-2010 in west Azarbaijan of Iran. Asian J Transfus Sci. 2013;7:55-58. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 5] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 6] [Article Influence: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
123. | Mousavian S, Mansouri F, Saraei A, Sadeghei A, Merat S. Seroprevalence of hepatitis C in hemophilia patients refering to Iran Hemophilia Society Center in Tehran (in Persian). Govaresh. 2011;16:169-174. [Cited in This Article: ] |
124. | Kalantari H, Mirzabaghi A, Akbari M, Shahshahan Z. Prevalence of hepatitis C virus, hepatitis B virus, human immunodeficiency virus and related risk factors among hemophilia and thalassemia patients In Iran. Iran J Clin Infect Dis. 2011;6:82-84. [Cited in This Article: ] |
125. | Mobini G, Hosseini M, Shahbaz B, Salari MH, Mokhtari-Azad T, Nategh R. Prevalence of anti-HCV antibody and related risk factors among bleeding disorder patients in Yazd province of Iran (in Persian). J Shahrekord Univ Med Sci. 2010;12:36-42. [Cited in This Article: ] |
126. | Yazdani MR, Kassaian N, Ataei B, Nokhodian Z, Adibi P. Hepatitis C virus infection in patients with hemophilia in Isfahan, Iran. Int J Prev Med. 2012;3:S89-S93. [PubMed] [Cited in This Article: ] |
127. | Javadzadeh Shahshahani H, Attar M, Yavari MT, Savabieh S. Study of the prevalence of hepatitis B, C and HIV infection in hemophilia and thalassemia population of Yazd (in Persian). SJIBTO. 2006;2:315-322. [Cited in This Article: ] |
128. | Samimi-Rad K, Shahbaz B. Hepatitis C virus genotypes among patients with thalassemia and inherited bleeding disorders in Markazi province, Iran. Haemophilia. 2007;13:156-163. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 38] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 42] [Article Influence: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
129. | Mahdaviani F, Saremi S, Rafiee M. Prevalence of hepatitis B, C and HIV infection in thalassemic and hemophilic patients of Markazi province in 2004 (in Persian). Blood Sci J Iran. 2008;4:313-322. [Cited in This Article: ] |
130. | Karimi M, Ghavanini AA. Seroprevalence of HBsAg, anti-HCV, and anti-HIV among haemophiliac patients in Shiraz, Iran. Haematologia (Budap). 2001;31:251-255. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 10] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 15] [Article Influence: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
131. | Assarehzadegan MA, Ghafourian Boroujerdnia M, Zandian K. Prevalence of hepatitis B and C infections and HCV genotypes among haemophilia patients in ahvaz, southwest iran. Iran Red Crescent Med J. 2012;14:470-474. [PubMed] [Cited in This Article: ] |
132. | Zahedi MJ, Darvishmoghadam S. Frequency of Hepatitis B and C infection among Hemophiliac patients in Kerman (in Persian). JKUMS. 2004;11:131-135. [Cited in This Article: ] |
133. | Sharifi-Mood B, Eshghi P, Sanei-Moghaddam E, Hashemi M. Hepatitis B and C virus infections in patients with hemophilia in Zahedan, southeast Iran. Saudi Med J. 2007;28:1516-1519. [PubMed] [Cited in This Article: ] |
134. | Esfahani H, Bazmamoun H. The Prevalence of Blood-Borne Viral Infection (HBV, HCV, HIV) among Hemophilia Patients in Hamedan Province of Iran. IJBC. 2014;6:209-211. [Cited in This Article: ] |
135. | Ansari S, Azarkivan A, Halagi F. Incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with thalassemia who had hepatitis C. Acta Med Iran. 2013;51:404-407. [PubMed] [Cited in This Article: ] |
136. | Alavian S, Tabatabaei S, Lankarani K. Epidemiology of HCV infection among thalassemia patients in eastern Mediterranean countries: a quantitative review of literature. Iran Red Crescent Med J. 2010;12:365-376. [Cited in This Article: ] |
137. | Mansouritorghabeh H, Badiei Z. Transfusion-transmitted viruses in individuals with β thalassemia major at Northeastern Iran, a retrospective sero-epidemiological survey. IJBC. 2008;1:1-4. [Cited in This Article: ] |
138. | Mirmomen S, Alavian SM, Hajarizadeh B, Kafaee J, Yektaparast B, Zahedi MJ, Zand V, Azami AA, Hosseini MM, Faridi AR. Epidemiology of hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and human immunodeficiency virus infecions in patients with beta-thalassemia in Iran: a multicenter study. Arch Iran Med. 2006;9:319-323. [PubMed] [Cited in This Article: ] |
139. | Ghane M, Eghbali M, Abdolahpour M. Prevalence of Hepatitis C Amongst Beta-thalassemia Patients in Gilan and Mazandaran Provinces, 2011 (in Persian). Govaresh. 2011;16:22-27. [Cited in This Article: ] |
140. | Tamaddoni A, Mohammadzadeh I, Ziaei O. Seroprevalence of HCV antibody among patients with beta-thalassemia major in Amirkola Thalassemia Center, Iran. Iran J Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2007;6:41. [PubMed] [Cited in This Article: ] |
141. | Alavi S, Valeshabad AK, Sharifi Z, Nourbakhsh K, Arzanian MT, Navidinia M, Seraj SM. Torque teno virus and hepatitis C virus co-infection in Iranian pediatric thalassemia patients. Turk J Haematol. 2012;29:156-161. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 6] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 6] [Article Influence: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
142. | Alavian SM, Kafaei J, Yektaparast B, Hajarizadeh B, Kamali A, Sadri M. The prevalence of Hepatitis B and C among Thalassemia major patients in Ghazvin (in Persian). Kowsar Med J. 2003;7:319-326. [Cited in This Article: ] |
143. | Bozorgi SH, Ramezani H, Vahid T, Mostajeri A, Kargarfard H, Rezaei M, Ashayeri N, Alavian SM. The prevalence and risk factors of hepatitis C virus infection among thalassemic patients of Qazvin (2005) (in Persian). JQUMS. 2008;11. [Cited in This Article: ] |
144. | Azarkeivan A, Toosi MN, Maghsudlu M, Kafiabad SA, Hajibeigi B, Hadizadeh M. The incidence of hepatitis C in patients with thalassemia after screening in blood transfusion centers: a fourteen-year study. Transfusion. 2012;52:1814-1818. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 7] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 7] [Article Influence: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
145. | Nakhaie S, Talachian E. Prevalence and characteristic of liver involvement in thalassemia patients with HCV in Ali-Asghar children hospital, Tehran, Iran (in Persian). JIUMS. 2003;10:799-806. [Cited in This Article: ] |
146. | Ataei B, Hashemipour M, Kassaian N, Hassannejad R, Nokhodian Z, Adibi P. Prevalence of anti HCV infection in patients with Beta-thalassemia in isfahan-iran. Int J Prev Med. 2012;3:S118-S123. [PubMed] [Cited in This Article: ] |
147. | Karimi M, Ghavanini AA. Seroprevalence of hepatitis B, hepatitis C and human immunodeficiency virus antibodies among multitransfused thalassaemic children in Shiraz, Iran. J Paediatr Child Health. 2001;37:564-566. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 23] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 26] [Article Influence: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
148. | Kashef S, Karimi M, Amirghofran Z, Ayatollahi M, Pasalar M, Ghaedian MM, Kashef MA. Antiphospholipid antibodies and hepatitis C virus infection in Iranian thalassemia major patients. Int J Lab Hematol. 2008;30:11-16. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 1] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 4] [Article Influence: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
149. | Kadivar M, Mirahmadizadeh A, Karimi A, Hemmati A. The prevalence of HCV and HIV in thalassemia patients in Shiraz, Iran. Med J Iran Hosp. 2001;4:18-20. [Cited in This Article: ] |
150. | Shahraki T, Shahraki M, Moghaddam ES, Najafi M, Bahari A. Determination of hepatitis C genotypes and the viral titer distribution in children and adolescents with major thalassemia. Iran J Pediatr. 2010;20:75-81. [PubMed] [Cited in This Article: ] |
151. | Ghafourian Boroujerdnia M, Assarehzadegan M, Haghirizadeh Rodany M, Zandian K, Noroozkohnejad R. Detection of molecular markers of hepatitis B, hepatitis C and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in thalassemic patients referring to Shafa hospital (in Persian). Jundishapur Sci Med J. 2009;7:454-462. [Cited in This Article: ] |
152. | Alavi SM, Hajiani E. Hepatitis C infection: a review on epidemiology and management of occupational exposure in health care workers for general physicians working in Iranian health network setting. Jundishapur J Microbiol. 2011;4:1-9. [Cited in This Article: ] |
153. | Shoaei P, Lotfi N, Hassannejad R, Yaran M, Ataei B, Kassaian N, Foroughifar M, Adibi P. Seroprevalence of Hepatitis C Infection among Laboratory Health Care Workers in Isfahan, Iran. Int J Prev Med. 2012;3:S146-S149. [PubMed] [Cited in This Article: ] |
154. | Yarmohammadi M. Investigating the Serologic Status and Epidemiological Aspects of Health Care Workers’ Exposure to HBV and HCV Viruses (in Persian). Knowledge & Health. 2011;5:37-42. [Cited in This Article: ] |
155. | Hadadi A, Afhami S, Kharbakhsh M, Hajabdoulbaghi M, Rasoolinejad M, Emadi H, Esmaeelpour N, Sadeghi A, Ghorashi L. Epidemiological determinants of occupational exposure to HIV, HBV and HCV in health care workers (in Persian). TUMJ. 2007;65:59-66. [Cited in This Article: ] |
156. | Askarian M, Yadollahi M, Kuochak F, Danaei M, Vakili V, Momeni M. Precautions for health care workers to avoid hepatitis B and C virus infection. Int J Occup Environ Med. 2011;2:191-198. [PubMed] [Cited in This Article: ] |
157. | Amiri FB, Gouya MM, Saifi M, Rohani M, Tabarsi P, Sedaghat A, Fahimfar N, Memarnejadian A, Aghasadeghi MR, Haghdoost AA. Vulnerability of homeless people in Tehran, Iran, to HIV, tuberculosis and viral hepatitis. PLoS One. 2014;9:e98742. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 13] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 19] [Article Influence: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
158. | Vahdani P, Hosseini-Moghaddam SM, Family A, Moheb-Dezfouli R. Prevalence of HBV, HCV, HIV and syphilis among homeless subjects older than fifteen years in Tehran. Arch Iran Med. 2009;12:483-487. [PubMed] [Cited in This Article: ] |
159. | Beijer U, Wolf A, Fazel S. Prevalence of tuberculosis, hepatitis C virus, and HIV in homeless people: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet Infect Dis. 2012;12:859-870. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 240] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 219] [Article Influence: 18.3] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
160. | Fallah F, Karimi A, Eslami G, Tabatabaii S, Goudarzi H, Moradi RRA, Malekan M, Navidinia M, Golnabi A, Gholinejad Z. The Homeless youth and their exposure to Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C among in Tehran, Iran. Gene Ther Mol Biol. 2008;12:95-100. [Cited in This Article: ] |
161. | Ataei B, Nokhodian Z, Babak A, Shoaei P, Mohhammadzadeh M, Sadeghi R. Seroprevalence of Hepatitis C (HCV) and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection among street children in Isfahan, Iran (in Persian). TUMJ. 2010;67:811-816. [Cited in This Article: ] |
162. | Sharifi-Mood B, Alavi-Naini R, Salehi M, Hashemi M, Rakhshani F. Spectrum of clinical disease in a series of hospitalized HIV-infected patients from southeast of Iran. Saudi Med J. 2006;27:1362-1366. [PubMed] [Cited in This Article: ] |
163. | Mohammadi M, Talei G, Sheikhian A, Ebrahimzade F, Pournia Y, Ghasemi E, Boroun H. Survey of both hepatitis B virus (HBsAg) and hepatitis C virus (HCV-Ab) coinfection among HIV positive patients. Virol J. 2009;6:202. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 29] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 33] [Article Influence: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
164. | SeyedAlinaghi S, Valiollahi P, Paydary K, Emamzadeh-Fard S, Mohraz M. Prevalence of hepatitis B (HBV) and C (HCV) viruses coinfections among HIV infected people in Iran. J AIDS & HIV Res. 2012;4:181-186. [Cited in This Article: ] |
165. | Zahedi MJ, Moghaddam SD, Abasi MH, Parnian M, Shokoohi M. Hepatitis B, C virus co-infection and behavioral risks in HIV-positive patients in southern Iran. J Pak Med Assoc. 2014;64:134-137. [PubMed] [Cited in This Article: ] |
166. | Davarpanah MA, Khademolhosseini F, Rajaeefard A, Tavassoli A, Yazdanfar SK, Rezaianzadeh A. Hepatitis C Virus Infection in HIV Positive Attendees of Shiraz Behavioral Diseases Consultation Center in Southern Iran. Indian J Community Med. 2013;38:86-91. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 4] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 5] [Article Influence: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
167. | Ramezani A, Mohraz M, Gachkar L. Epidemiologic situation of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV/AIDS patients) in a private clinic in Tehran, Iran. Arch Iran Med. 2006;9:315-318. [PubMed] [Cited in This Article: ] |
168. | Ataei B, Tayeri K, Kassaian N, Farajzadegan Z, Babak A. Hepatitis B and C among patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus in Isfahan, Iran: seroprevalence and associated factors. Hepat Mon. 2010;10:188-192. [PubMed] [Cited in This Article: ] |
169. | Alipour A, Rezaianzadeh A, Hasanzadeh J, Rajaeefard A, Davarpanah MA, Hasanabadi M. High prevalence of HCV coinfection in HIV-infected individuals in Shiraz, Islamic Republic of Iran. East Mediterr Health J. 2013;19:975-981. [PubMed] [Cited in This Article: ] |
170. | SeyedAlinaghi S, Jam S, Mehrkhani F, Fattahi F, Sabzvari D, Kourorian Z, Jabbari H, Mohraz M. Hepatitis-C and hepatitis-B co-infections in patients with human immunodeficiency virus in Tehran, Iran. Acta Med Iran. 2011;49:252-257. [PubMed] [Cited in This Article: ] |
171. | Alavi SM, Etemadi A. HIV/HBV, HIV/HCV and HIV/HTLV-1 co infection among injecting drug user patients hospitalized at the infectious disease ward of a training hospital in Iran. Pak J Med Sci. 2007;23:510-513. [Cited in This Article: ] |
172. | Khosravi A, Bahmani M, Ghezel-Sofla I. Co-infection by hepatitis C virus in human immunodeficiency virus infected patients in southwest of Iran. IJCID. 2010;5:223-227. [Cited in This Article: ] |
173. | Babamahmoodi F, Heidari Gorji MA, Mahdi Nasehi M, Delavarian L. The prevalence rate of hepatitis B and hepatitis C co-infection in HIV positive patients in Mazandaran province, Iran. Med Glas (Zenica). 2012;9:299-303. [PubMed] [Cited in This Article: ] |
174. | Saleh F, Azizi H, Kheirandish F, Rashnou F, Mousavi Nasab SD, Movahedi F, Azizi M. Frequency of HCV and HBV Co-infections in HIV Positive Patient in City of Iran: A Cross-Sectional Study. IJTDH. 2015;6:14-19. [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 1] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 1] [Article Influence: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
175. | Tampaki M, Koskinas J. Extrahepatic immune related manifestations in chronic hepatitis C virus infection. World J Gastroenterol. 2014;20:12372-12380. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in CrossRef: 15] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 15] [Article Influence: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
176. | El Baki AMA, Arab MAE, El Mageed NA. Chronic Hepatitis C Virus (HCV)-associated Cryoglobulinemia and its possible impact on the skin in Egyptian Patients. EJHM. 2010;39:197-207. [Cited in This Article: ] |
177. | Gragnani L, Fognani E, Piluso A, Zignego AL. Hepatitis C virus-related mixed cryoglobulinemia: is genetics to blame? World J Gastroenterol. 2013;19:8910-8915. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in CrossRef: 15] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 16] [Article Influence: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
178. | Jadali Z. Hepatitis C virus cryoglobulinemia and non-hodgkin lymphoma. Hepat Mon. 2012;12:85-91. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 3] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 5] [Article Influence: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
179. | Anis S, Muzaffar R, Ahmed E, Ali S, Nadir A, Naqvi A, Rizvi AH. Cryoglobulinaemia and autoimmune markers in hepatitis C virus infected patients on renal replacement therapy. J Pak Med Assoc. 2007;57:225-229. [PubMed] [Cited in This Article: ] |
180. | Morcos NY, Hassanein MH, Eliase NY, Bayoumi Eel-D, Mustafa IM. Chronic hepatitis C virus infection: prevalence of cryoglobulinemia and renal affection in the Egyptian patients. J Egypt Soc Parasitol. 2010;40:539-550. [PubMed] [Cited in This Article: ] |
181. | Gharagozloo S, Khoshnoodi J, Shokri F. Hepatitis C virus infection in patients with essential mixed cryoglobulinemia, multiple myeloma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Pathol Oncol Res. 2001;7:135-139. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 16] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 18] [Article Influence: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
182. | Owlia MB, Sami R, Akhondi M, Salimzadeh A. Cryoglobulinaemia in hepatitis C-positive patients in Iran. Singapore Med J. 2007;48:1136-1139. [PubMed] [Cited in This Article: ] |
183. | Larijani B, Bandarian F. On Diabetes Mellitus and Hepatitis C Infection: Should the Patients be Screened? Hepat Mon. 2009;9:92-94. [Cited in This Article: ] |
184. | Allison ME, Wreghitt T, Palmer CR, Alexander GJ. Evidence for a link between hepatitis C virus infection and diabetes mellitus in a cirrhotic population. J Hepatol. 1994;21:1135-1139. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 313] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 332] [Article Influence: 11.1] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
185. | Negro F, Alaei M. Hepatitis C virus and type 2 diabetes. World J Gastroenterol. 2009;15:1537-1547. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in CrossRef: 102] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 104] [Article Influence: 6.9] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
186. | Mason A, Nair S. Is type II diabetes another extrahepatic manifestation of HCV infection? Am J Gastroenterol. 2003;98:243-246. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 15] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 15] [Article Influence: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
187. | Hwang SJ, Chen LK. Chronic hepatitis C and diabetes mellitus. J Chin Med Assoc. 2006;69:143-145. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 9] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 9] [Article Influence: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
188. | Abenavoli L, Masarone M, Peta V, Milic N, Kobyliak N, Rouabhia S, Persico M. Insulin resistance and liver steatosis in chronic hepatitis C infection genotype 3. World J Gastroenterol. 2014;20:15233-15240. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in CrossRef: 50] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 42] [Article Influence: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
189. | Greca LF, Pinto LC, Rados DR, Canani LH, Gross JL. Clinical features of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and hepatitis C infection. Braz J Med Biol Res. 2012;45:284-290. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 4] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 9] [Article Influence: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
190. | Olokoba A, Badung L, Abdulrahman M, Salawu F, Danburam A, Aderibigbe S, Midala J, Tidi S. Hepatitis C virus infection in Nigerians with diabetes mellitus. Am J Sci Ind Res. 2010;1:135-138. [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 1] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 3] [Article Influence: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
191. | Naing C, Mak JW, Ahmed SI, Maung M. Relationship between hepatitis C virus infection and type 2 diabetes mellitus: meta-analysis. World J Gastroenterol. 2012;18:1642-1651. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in CrossRef: 106] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 105] [Article Influence: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
192. | Aghamohammadzadeh N, Ghotaslou R, Javadi M, Najafipour F, Niafar M. Prevalence of hepatitis C infection among type 2 diabetic patients (in Persian). MJTUMS. 2010;32:7-11. [Cited in This Article: ] |
193. | Alavian SM, Hajarizadeh B, Nematizadeh F, Larijani B. Prevalence and determinants of diabetes mellitus among Iranian patients with chronic liver disease. BMC Endocr Disord. 2004;4:4. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 15] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 15] [Article Influence: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
194. | Janbakhsh A, Mansouri F, Vaziri S, Sayad B, Afsharian M, Soleiman Meigouni S. Prevalence and coexistence of diabetes in HIV, HCV and HIV/HCV co-infection in Kermanshah-Iran (in Persian). Behbood. 2012;15:473-480. [Cited in This Article: ] |
195. | Metanat M, Sharifi-Mood B, Sanei-Moghaddam E, Alavi-Naini R, Naderi M, Khosravi S. Prevalence of hepatitis C among diabetes mellitus patients in Zahedan (in Persian). Tabibe Shargh Res J. 2006;8:179-186. [Cited in This Article: ] |
196. | Bahar A, Azizi F. Insulin Resistance and β Cell Function in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis and Impaired Glucose Tolerance. Int J Endocrinol Metab. 2007;4:125-133. [Cited in This Article: ] |
197. | Persico M, Masarone M, La Mura V, Persico E, Moschella F, Svelto M, Bruno S, Torella R. Clinical expression of insulin resistance in hepatitis C and B virus-related chronic hepatitis: differences and similarities. World J Gastroenterol. 2009;15:462-466. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in CrossRef: 16] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 19] [Article Influence: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
198. | Rouabhia S, Malek R, Bounecer H, Dekaken A, Bendali Amor F, Sadelaoud M, Benouar A. Prevalence of type 2 diabetes in Algerian patients with hepatitis C virus infection. World J Gastroenterol. 2010;16:3427-3431. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in CrossRef: 36] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 35] [Article Influence: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
199. | Himoto T, Masaki T. Extrahepatic manifestations and autoantibodies in patients with hepatitis C virus infection. Clin Dev Immunol. 2012;2012:871401. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 45] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 50] [Article Influence: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
200. | Jadali Z, Alavian SM. Autoimmune diseases co-existing with hepatitis C virus infection. Iran J Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2010;9:191-206. [PubMed] [Cited in This Article: ] |
201. | Jadali Z. Autoimmune thyroid disorders in hepatitis C virus infection: Effect of interferon therapy. Indian J Endocrinol Metab. 2013;17:69-75. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 17] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 17] [Article Influence: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
202. | Yang DH, Ho LJ, Lai JH. Useful biomarkers for assessment of hepatitis C virus infection-associated autoimmune disorders. World J Gastroenterol. 2014;20:2962-2970. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in CrossRef: 15] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 14] [Article Influence: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
203. | Chong VH. Autoimmune thyroiditis and delayed onset psoriasis in association with combination therapy for chronic hepatitis C infection. Singapore Med J. 2011;52:e20-e22. [PubMed] [Cited in This Article: ] |
204. | Ziaee A, Esfehanian F, Sarreshtedari M. Thyroid dysfunction in patients with chronic viral hepatitis B and C during alpha interferon therapy. Hepat Mon. 2009;9:110-113. [Cited in This Article: ] |
205. | Rahimi MA, Sayad B, Tahamoli Roudsari A, Shahebrahimi K, Shirvani M, Rezaei M. Autoimmune thyroid disorder in patient with chronic hepatitis C before treatment (in Persian). Behbood. 2011;15:208-212. [Cited in This Article: ] |
206. | Jadali Z, Esfahanian F, Farhud DD, Alavian SM, Soltan Dallal MM. Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis and Its Association with Hepatitis C Virus Infection. Int J Endocrinol Metab. 2005;3:116-120. [Cited in This Article: ] |
207. | Jadali Z, Esfahanian F, Eslami MB, Sanati MH. Serum Antibodies against Hepatitis C Virus in Iranian Patients with Graves’ Disease. Iran J Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2005;4:91-94. [PubMed] [Cited in This Article: ] |
208. | Ansar A, Zamanian A, Farschian M, Sorouri R, Mobaien AR. Comparison of seropositivity of HCV between oral lichen planus and healthy control group in Hamedan province (west of Iran). Dermatol. 2011;2:181-184. [Cited in This Article: ] |
209. | Alavian SM, Mahboobi N, Mahboobi N, Karayiannis P. Oral conditions associated with hepatitis C virus infection. Saudi J Gastroenterol. 2013;19:245-251. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 7] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 7] [Article Influence: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
210. | Asaad T, Samdani AJ. Association of lichen planus with hepatitis C virus infection. Ann Saudi Med. 2005;25:243-246. [PubMed] [Cited in This Article: ] |
211. | Carrozzo M, Scally K. Oral manifestations of hepatitis C virus infection. World J Gastroenterol. 2014;20:7534-7543. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in CrossRef: 46] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 45] [Article Influence: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
212. | Petti S, Rabiei M, De Luca M, Scully C. The magnitude of the association between hepatitis C virus infection and oral lichen planus: meta-analysis and case control study. Odontology. 2011;99:168-178. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 46] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 52] [Article Influence: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
213. | Rabiei M, Mohtasham Amiri Z. Prevalence of Lichen Planus in HCV infected patients ofGilan province, 2002 (in Persian). Beheshti Univ Dent J. 2003;21:193-200. [Cited in This Article: ] |
214. | Khatibi M, Ahmadinejad Z, Nasiri-Toosi M, Hajibaygi B, Zahedipour H. Prevalence of oral lichen planus in HCV infected patients: the effective factors (in Persian). Tehran Univ Med J. 2008;66:585-589. [Cited in This Article: ] |
215. | Rahnama Z, Esfandiarpour I, Farajzadeh S. The relationship between lichen planus and hepatitis C in dermatology outpatients in Kerman, Iran. Int J Dermatol. 2005;44:746-748. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 17] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 20] [Article Influence: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
216. | Taghavi Zenouz A, Mehdipour M, Gholizadeh N, Naghili B, Jafari Heydarlou M. Evaluation of Relationship between Lichen Planus and HCV Antibody. J Dent Res Dent Clin Dent Prospects. 2010;4:10-13. [PubMed] [Cited in This Article: ] |
217. | Rastin M, Khoee AR, Tabasi N, Sheikh A, Ziaolhagh S, Esmaeeli E, Zamani S, Khazaee M, Mahmoudi M. Evaluation of HTLV-I and HCV Prevalence in Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Iran J Basic Med Sci. 2013;16:242-246. [PubMed] [Cited in This Article: ] |
218. | Aledavood SA, Ghavam-Nasiri MR, Ghaffarzadegan K, Raziee HR, Saboori G, Anvari K, Mohtashami S, Ahadi M, Memar B. Hepatitis-C Infection Incidence Among the non-Hodgkin’s B-cell Lymphoma Patients in the Northeast of Iran. Iran J Cancer Prev. 2014;7:147-151. [PubMed] [Cited in This Article: ] |
219. | Rezaeian AA, Yaghobi R, Nia MR, Mirzaee M, Ramzi M, Shaheli M. Etiology of hepatitis G virus (HGV) and hepatitis type C virus (HCV) infections in non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma patients in Southern Iran. Afr J Biotechnol. 2012;11:11659-11664. [Cited in This Article: ] |
220. | Datta S, Chatterjee S, Policegoudra RS, Gogoi HK, Singh L. Hepatitis viruses and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma: A review. World J Virol. 2012;1:162-173. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in CrossRef: 10] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 12] [Article Influence: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
221. | Gisbert JP, García-Buey L, Pajares JM, Moreno-Otero R. Prevalence of hepatitis C virus infection in B-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma: systematic review and meta-analysis. Gastroenterology. 2003;125:1723-1732. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 228] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 203] [Article Influence: 9.7] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
222. | Civan J, Hann HW. Hepatitis C virus mediated hepatocellular carcinoma: a focused review for a time of changing therapeutic options. N AJ Med Sci. 2014;7:8-16. [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 4] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 4] [Article Influence: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
223. | Fazeli Z, Pourhoseingholi MA, Vahedi M, Zali MR. Burden of hepatocellular carcinoma in Iran. Asian Pacific J Cancer Prev. 2012;13:5955-5958. [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 7] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 7] [Article Influence: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
224. | Saiedi Hosseini SY. Risk factors and incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma in Southeast Iran. Hepat Mon. 2011;11:666-667. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 2] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 3] [Article Influence: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
225. | Hajiani E, Masjedizadeh R, Hashemi J, Azmi M, Rajabi T. Risk factors for hepatocellular carcinoma in Southern Iran. Saudi Med J. 2005;26:974-977. [PubMed] [Cited in This Article: ] |
226. | Kabir A, Alavian SM, Keyvani H. Distribution of hepatitis C virus genotypes in patients infected by different sources and its correlation with clinical and virological parameters: a preliminary study. Comp Hepatol. 2006;5:4. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 36] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 48] [Article Influence: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
227. | Dusheiko G, Schmilovitz-Weiss H, Brown D, McOmish F, Yap PL, Sherlock S, McIntyre N, Simmonds P. Hepatitis C virus genotypes: an investigation of type-specific differences in geographic origin and disease. Hepatology. 1994;19:13-18. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 302] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 287] [Article Influence: 9.6] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
228. | Samimi-Rad K, Nategh R, Malekzadeh R, Norder H, Magnius L. Molecular epidemiology of hepatitis C virus in Iran as reflected by phylogenetic analysis of the NS5B region. J Med Virol. 2004;74:246-252. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 51] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 53] [Article Influence: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
229. | Gower E, Estes C, Blach S, Razavi-Shearer K, Razavi H. Global epidemiology and genotype distribution of the hepatitis C virus infection. J Hepatol. 2014;61:S45-S57. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 1325] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 1326] [Article Influence: 132.6] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
230. | Ramia S, Eid-Fares J. Distribution of hepatitis C virus genotypes in the Middle East. Int J Infect Dis. 2006;10:272-277. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 71] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 71] [Article Influence: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
231. | Jamalidoust M, Namayandeh M, Asaei S, Aliabadi N, Ziyaeyan M. Determining hepatitis C virus genotype distribution among high-risk groups in Iran using real-time PCR. World J Gastroenterol. 2014;20:5897-5902. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in CrossRef: 21] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 22] [Article Influence: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
232. | Jahanbakhsh Sefidi F, Keyvani H, Monavari SH, Alavian SM, Fakhim S, Bokharaei-Salim F. Distribution of hepatitis C virus genotypes in Iranian chronic infected patients. Hepat Mon. 2013;13:e7991. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 47] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 58] [Article Influence: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
233. | Farshadpour F, Makvandi M, Samarbafzadeh AR, Jalalifar MA. Determination of hepatitis C virus genotypes among blood donors in Ahvaz, Iran. Indian J Med Microbiol. 2010;28:54-56. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 21] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 23] [Article Influence: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
234. | Sharifi Z, Shooshtari MM, Kermani FR. Identification of HCV genotypes in HCV infected blood donors. Indian J Microbiol. 2010;50:275-279. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 6] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 6] [Article Influence: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
235. | Amini S, Mahmoodi Farahani Majd Abadi M, Joulaie M, MH A. Distribution of hepatitis C virus genotypes in Iran: a population-based study. Hepat Mon. 2009;9:95-102. [Cited in This Article: ] |
236. | Hajia M, Amirzargar A, Khedmat H, Shahrokhi N, Farzanehkhah M, Ghorishi S, Biglari S, Salehinodeh A, Sarafnejad A. Genotyping Pattern among Iranian HCV Positive Patients. Iran J Public Health. 2010;39:39-44. [PubMed] [Cited in This Article: ] |
237. | Zarkesh-Esfahani SH, Kardi MT, Edalati M. Hepatitis C virus genotype frequency in Isfahan province of Iran: a descriptive cross-sectional study. Virol J. 2010;7:69. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 30] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 40] [Article Influence: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
238. | Esmaeilzadeh A, Erfanmanesh M, Ghasemi S, Mohammadi F. Serological assay and genotyping of hepatitis C virus in infected patients in zanjan province. Hepat Mon. 2014;14:e17323. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 15] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 16] [Article Influence: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
239. | Hadinedoushan H, Salmanroghani H, Amirbaigy MK, Akhondi-Meybodi M. Hepatitis C virus genotypes and association with viral load in yazd, central province of iran. Hepat Mon. 2014;14:e11705. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 13] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 18] [Article Influence: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
240. | Vossughinia H, Goshayeshi L, Bayegi HR, Sima H, Kazemi A, Erfani S, Abedini S, Goshayeshi L, Ghaffarzadegan K, Nomani H. Prevalence of Hepatitis C Virus Genotypes in Mashhad, Northeast Iran. Iran J Public Health. 2012;41:56-61. [PubMed] [Cited in This Article: ] |
241. | Keyvani H, Alizadeh AH, Alavian SM, Ranjbar M, Hatami S. Distribution frequency of hepatitis C virus genotypes in 2231 patients in Iran. Hepatol Res. 2007;37:101-103. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 38] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 38] [Article Influence: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
242. | Moradi A, Semnani S, Keshtkar A, Khodabakhshi B, Kazeminejad V, Molana A, Roshandel G, Besharat S. Distribution of hepatitis C virus genotype among HCV infected patients in Golestan province, Iran (in Persian). Govaresh. 2010;15:7-13. [Cited in This Article: ] |
243. | Hamidi-Fard M, Samarbaf-Zadeh A, Makvandi M, Hajiani E. Determination of HCV Genotypes among Chronic Hepatic Patients in Ahvaz. Iran J virol. 2010;3:12-16. [Cited in This Article: ] |
244. | Rafiei A, Darzyani AM, Taheri S, Haghshenas MR, Hosseinian A, Makhlough A. Genetic diversity of HCV among various high risk populations (IDAs, thalassemia, hemophilia, HD patients) in Iran. Asian Pac J Trop Med. 2013;6:556-560. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 13] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 10] [Article Influence: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
245. | Ghane M, Eghbali M, Nejad HR, Saeb K, Farahani M. Distribution of hepatitis C virus genotypes amongst the beta-thalassemia patients in North of Iran. Pak J Biol Sci. 2012;15:748-753. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 9] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 9] [Article Influence: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
246. | Ranjbar Kermani F, Sharifi Z, Ferdowsian F, Paz Z, Zamanian M. Distribution of Hepatitis C Virus Genotypes Among Chronic Infected Injecting Drug Users in Tehran, Iran. Jundishapur J Microbiol. 2013;6:265-268. [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 4] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 4] [Article Influence: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
247. | Samimi-Rad K, Nasiri Toosi M, Masoudi-Nejad A, Najafi A, Rahimnia R, Asgari F, Shabestari AN, Hassanpour G, Alavian SM, Asgari F. Molecular epidemiology of hepatitis C virus among injection drug users in Iran: a slight change in prevalence of HCV genotypes over time. Arch Virol. 2012;157:1959-1965. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 25] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 23] [Article Influence: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
248. | Somi MH, Keivani H, Ardalan MR, Farhang S, Pouri AA. Hepatitis C virus genotypes in patients with end-stage renal disease in East Azerbaijan, Iran. Saudi J Kidney Dis Transpl. 2008;19:461-465. [PubMed] [Cited in This Article: ] |
249. | Hosseini-Moghaddam SM, Keyvani H, Kasiri H, Kazemeyni SM, Basiri A, Aghel N, Alavian SM. Distribution of hepatitis C virus genotypes among hemodialysis patients in Tehran--a multicenter study. J Med Virol. 2006;78:569-573. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 21] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 22] [Article Influence: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
250. | Davarpanah MA, Saberi-Firouzi M, Bagheri Lankarani K, Mehrabani D, Behzad Behbahani A, Serati A, Ardebili M, Yousefi M, Khademolhosseini F, Keyvani-Amineh H. Hepatitis C virus genotype distribution in Shiraz, southern Iran. Hepat Mon. 2009;9:122-127. [Cited in This Article: ] |
251. | Bokharaei-Salim F, Keyvani H, Monavari SH, Alavian SM, Madjd Z, Toosi MN, Mohammad Alizadeh AH. Occult hepatitis C virus infection in Iranian patients with cryptogenic liver disease. J Med Virol. 2011;83:989-995. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 54] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 59] [Article Influence: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
252. | Jain P, Nijhawan S. Occult hepatitis C virus infection is more common than hepatitis B infection in maintenance hemodialysis patients. World J Gastroenterol. 2008;14:2288-2289. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in CrossRef: 30] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 32] [Article Influence: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
253. | Carreño V, Bartolomé J, Castillo I, Quiroga JA. New perspectives in occult hepatitis C virus infection. World J Gastroenterol. 2012;18:2887-2894. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in CrossRef: 57] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 58] [Article Influence: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
254. | De Marco L, Manzini P, Trevisan M, Gillio-Tos A, Danielle F, Balloco C, Pizzi A, De Filippo E, D’Antico S, Violante B. Prevalence and follow-up of occult HCV infection in an Italian population free of clinically detectable infectious liver disease. PLoS One. 2012;7:e43541. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 31] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 33] [Article Influence: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
255. | Carreño V. Seronegative occult hepatitis C virus infection: clinical implications. J Clin Virol. 2014;61:315-320. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 22] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 21] [Article Influence: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
256. | Pham TN, Michalak TI. Occult hepatitis C virus infection and its relevance in clinical practice. J Clin Exp Hepatol. 2011;1:185-189. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 17] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 17] [Article Influence: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
257. | Keyvani H, Bokharaei-Salim F, Monavari SH, Esghaei M, Nassiri Toosi M, Fakhim S, Sadigh ZA, Alavian SM. Occult hepatitis C virus infection in candidates for liver transplant with cryptogenic cirrhosis. Hepat Mon. 2013;13:e11290. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 37] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 39] [Article Influence: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
258. | Farahani M, Bokharaei-Salim F, Ghane M, Basi A, Meysami P, Keyvani H. Prevalence of occult hepatitis C virus infection in Iranian patients with lymphoproliferative disorders. J Med Virol. 2013;85:235-240. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 27] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 28] [Article Influence: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
259. | Makvandi M, Khalafkhany D, Rasti M, Neisi N, Omidvarinia A, Mirghaed AT, Masjedizadeh A, Shyesteh AA. Detection of Hepatitis C virus RNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients with abnormal alanine transaminase in Ahvaz. Indian J Med Microbiol. 2014;32:251-255. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 11] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 11] [Article Influence: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
260. | Rezaee Zavareh MS, Alavian SM, Karimisari H, Shafiei M, Saiedi Hosseini SY. Occult hepatitis C virus infection in patients with autoimmune hepatitis. Hepat Mon. 2014;14:e16089. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 11] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 12] [Article Influence: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |
261. | Ramezani A, Eslamifar A, Banifazl M, Keyvani H, Razeghi E, Ahmadi F, Amini M, Gachkar L, Bavand A, Aghakhani A. Occult HCV infection in Hemodialysis Patients with Elevated Liver Enzymes (in Persian). AMUJ. 2014;16:34-40. [Cited in This Article: ] |
262. | De Marco L, Gillio-Tos A, Fiano V, Ronco G, Krogh V, Palli D, Panico S, Tumino R, Vineis P, Merletti F. Occult HCV infection: an unexpected finding in a population unselected for hepatic disease. PLoS One. 2009;4:e8128. [PubMed] [DOI] [Cited in This Article: ] [Cited by in Crossref: 55] [Cited by in F6Publishing: 61] [Article Influence: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis (0)] |