RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a significant health problem throughout the world. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to evaluate the prevalence of hepatitis B antigen (HBsAg) seropositivity in the general population of Mashhad, northeast of Iran. PATIENTS AND METHODS: One thousand six hundred fifty-two healthy individuals aged 1 to 90 (Mean; 29.1 ± 18.5) from all 12 municipalities of Mashad were selected randomly by multistage cluster sampling. Informed consent was obtained, and demographics and medical histories were collected. Twice-reactive samples were considered HBsAg-positive by ELISA. Chi-square test and logistic regression were applied to analyze the factors related to HBsAg positivity using SPSS 16.0. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of HBsAg positivity was 1.39% (95% CI, 0.91% to 2.12%); 2.0% and 0.89% among men and women, respectively (p = 0.054). Infection was more prevalent in older (p = 0.019) and married persons (p = 0.001), Afghanis (p = 0.046), and those with a history of traditional cupping (p = 0.005). There was no association between HBV infection and gender; literacy; income; employment; family size; or history of blood transfusion, dental procedure, surgery, hospitalization, or tattooing. By logistic regression analysis, age was the only variable that had a significant association with infection (p = 0.026). CONCLUSION: It seems that the prevalence of HBV infection in Mashhad is slightly lower than that of the nation.
RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Mashhad, in the northeast of Iran has been suggested as an endemic area for human T cell lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) infection since 1996. OBJECTIVES: We performed a community-based seroepidemiology study to examine the prevalence and risk factors for HTLV-I infection in the city of Mashhad. STUDY DESIGN: Between May and September 2009, overall 1678 subjects from all the 12 geographical area of Mashhad were selected randomly by multistage cluster sampling for HTLV antibody. The study population included 763 males and 915 females, with the mean age of 29.1 ± 18.5 years. 1654 serum samples were assessed for HTLV antibody using ELISA and reactive samples were confirmed by Western blot and PCR. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of HTLV-I infection in whole population was 2.12% (95% CI, 1.48-2.93) with no significant difference between males and females (p = 0.093) and the prevalence of HTLV-II seropositivity was 0.12% (95% CI, 0.02-0.44). The HTLV-I Infection was associated with age (p<0.001), marital status (p<0.001), education (p = 0.047), and history of blood transfusion (p = 0.009), surgery (p<0.001), traditional cupping (p = 0.002), and hospitalization (p = 0.004). In logistic regression analysis, age was the only variable that had a significant relation with the infection (p = 0.006, OR = 4.33). CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrated that Mashhad still remains an endemic area for HTLV-I infection despite routine blood screening. Thus, further strategies are needed for prevention of the virus transmission in whole population.