Current Research in Medical Sciences

en Seroprevalence of Hepatitis E in with Major Thalassemia Patients بیماری های عفونی بیماری های عفونی پژوهشی اصیل Original Article Background: Hepatitis E is primarily transmitted via the fecal–oral route, although transfusion transmission is also possible. Blood transfusion-dependent thalassemia patients represent a high-risk group for transfusion-transmitted viruses. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 180 major thalassemia patients referred to the Thalassemia Center of Babol University of Medical Sciences in 2020. Patient information was extracted from medical records and entered into pre-prepared questionnaires. For patients with incomplete records lacking serological results, five mL of blood was collected and analyzed for IgM and IgG antibodies using ELISA. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 24. Results: Of the 180 patients, 92 (51.1%) were male and 88 (48.9%) were female, with a mean age of 30.5 ± 8.4 years. No samples tested positive for hepatitis E antibodies (0.18%). A family history of thalassemia was reported by 55 (30.6%) patients, 82 (45.6%) had a history of splenectomy, and three (1.7%) had undergone bone marrow transplantation. All patients had a history of blood transfusion; 4 (2.2%) received less than one unit per month, 111 (61.7%) received one unit, and 65 (36.1%) received two units. No patients reported a history of imprisonment or injecting drug use. One patient (0.6%) reported extramarital sex, and four (2.2%) had tattoos. Eighty-two patients (45.6%) had undergone splenectomy, and 51 (28.3%) had a history of other surgeries. Conclusion: This study found no evidence of hepatitis E infection among patients with major thalassemia. Further research is warranted to determine whether screening for hepatitis E is necessary in this population. Beta-thalassemia, Seroepidemiology, ELISA, Hepatitis Ebullosa, Nasal septum, Sinusitis, Tomography, X-Ray Computed 38 45 http://crms.mubabol.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-290-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Ahmad Tamaddoni drtamaddoni@yahoo.com 10031947532846002899 10031947532846002899 No Arefeh Babazadeh babazade95.a@gmail.com 10031947532846002900 10031947532846002900 No Milad Heidari drsoheil.d@gmail.com 10031947532846002901 10031947532846002901 No Hassan Mahmoodi Nesheli mahmoodi86@yahoo.com 10031947532846002902 10031947532846002902 No Soheil Ebrahimpour drsoheil1503@yahoo.com 10031947532846002903 10031947532846002903 Yes Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine Research Center, Health Research Institute, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran