Muhammad Aslam Sheikh, Muhammad Waqar Rabbani, Zulfiqar Ali, Zaheer-ud-din Babar, Imran Iqbal.
Prevalence of Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C in Thalassemia Major Patients receiving Multiple Transfusions at the Children’s Hospital Multan.
Pak Paed J Jan ;39(2):69-72.

Back Ground: Thalassemia is an inherited haemoglobinopathy. Traditional treatment with blood transfusion is usually recommended but repeated transfusions expose them to the risk of transfusion transmitted diseases. Objective: To determine the prevalence of Hepatitis B (HBV) and Hepatitis C (HCV) infection among transfusion dependent thalassemia patients. Maternal and Method: This cross sectional study was conducted at Thalassemia center, The Children’s Hospital Multan from Jan 2009 to Dec 2013. Total one hundred and forty five patients of Thalassemia major, who had received at least ten transfusions were included. The sera were tested for HBV antigen and HCV antibodies in all the selected patients by a highly sensitive ELISA. Serum ALT, Ferritin level, total number of transfusions received and vaccination status against HBV were also noted. Results: The mean age of patients was 6.21 ± 3.007. Ninety two (63.4%) were male and 53 (36.6%) female. The prevalence of HCV was 68.2% (n=99). Five (3.5%) thalassemia patients were positive for HBV. Mean number of transfusion received by each child was 73.917 ±50.218. Conclusion: The prevalence of HCV is much higher as compared to HBV among thalassemia patients. Population based partial or complete vaccination against HBV through EPI program in Pakistan may be the likely cause of this difference in prevalence rate.

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