Occult hepatitis B in Egyptian thalassemic children

Olfat Shaker; Amal Ahmed; Inas abdel Satar; Hamza El Ahl; Wafaa Shousha; Wahid Doss

doi:10.3855/jidc.1706

Occult hepatitis B in Egyptian thalassemic children

Authors

Olfat Shaker Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt
Amal Ahmed National Hepatology and Tropical Medicine Institute, Cairo, Egypt
Inas abdel Satar Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt
Hamza El Ahl Tabarak Children’s Hospital, Cairo, Egypt
Wafaa Shousha Faculty of Science, Helwan University, Helwan, Egypt
Wahid Doss National Hepatology and Tropical Medicine Institute, Cairo, Egypt

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3855/jidc.1706

Keywords:

occult HBV, hepatitis C virus, DNA, thalassemia, pediatrics

Abstract

Introduction: Thalassemia is hereditary anemia which requires lifelong transfusion as treatment, and hepatitis viral infection is one of the risks of repeated transfusions. Hepatitis B outbreaks in health-care settings are still a serious public health concern worldwide. Blood samples negative for HBsAg but positive for HBV-DNA, with or without the presence of HBV antibodies, are classified as "occult" HBV infection (OBI). This study investigated the prevalence of occult HBV infection in Egyptian thalassemic children.

Methodology: Eighty patients admitted to the Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University Hospital, were involved in this prospective study. Strict inclusion criteria were set to nullify the effect of confounding variables and further minimize selection bias. The following laboratory investigations were performed: complete blood count (CBC); serum AST and ALT; albumin; bilirubin; HBsAg; HBeAg; HBcAb; HCV-RNA; and HBV-DNA.

Results: All our patients had no clinical manifestation suggestive of hepatitis. Molecular biology studies revealed positivity for HCV and HBV at 25% and 32.5% respectively.

Conclusion: The estimated risk of acquiring hepatitis B and C infection in children receiving multiple blood transfusions is surprisingly high. Moreover, occult hepatitis B infection is a considerably risk.

Author Biographies

Olfat Shaker, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt

Department of Medical Biochemistry & Molecular Biology

Amal Ahmed, National Hepatology and Tropical Medicine Institute, Cairo, Egypt

Medical Biochemistry

Inas abdel Satar, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt

Downloads

Published

2011-07-28

How to Cite

Shaker O, Ahmed A, abdel Satar I, El Ahl H, Shousha W, Doss W (2011) Occult hepatitis B in Egyptian thalassemic children. J Infect Dev Ctries 6:340–346. doi: 10.3855/jidc.1706

Download Citation

Endnote/Zotero/Mendeley (RIS)

Issue

Vol. 6 No. 04: April 2012

Section

Original Articles

License

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).