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Molecular epidemiology of hepatitis C virus among injection drug users in Iran: a slight change in prevalence of HCV genotypes over time

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Abstract

Injecting drug users (IDUs) are the main at-risk population for hepatitis C virus (HCV) transmission. We studied HCV infection, risk factors, and genotype distribution in relation to the year of first injection among Iranian IDUs. Of a total of 126 specimens positive for HCV antibody, 93 (74 %) had detectible HCV RNA, and the NS5B gene was sequenced for 83, with genotype 3a (n = 48, 58 %) being predominant, followed by 1a (n = 35, 42 %). Tattooing was an independent predictor for HCV infection. No significant difference was found between HCV genotypes and IDU characteristics. Although there was no change in the distribution of prevalent genotypes before and after 1997, a slight variation in the prevalence was observed (p = 0.71). The difference in the prevalence of subtypes 1a and 3a (9.1 % in the period 1984-1996 and 18.2 % in the period 1997-2009) during 25 years was 9.1 %. These findings indicate a high prevalence of HCV infection among Iranian IDUs and highlights HCV-3a as the most prevalent subtype for the past 25 years. Harm-reduction strategies appear to be the most important measures to reduce the transmission of HCV in Iran.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Dr. Ali Malakzadeh and his colleagues at West Health Center for their cooperation in sample collection. We thank Dr. Mehrdad Pedram (Dept. of Biotechnology and Medical Genetics, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences) for his careful editing of the manuscript and helpful comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Virology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, P.O. Box 6446, 14155, Tehran, Iran

    Katayoun Samimi-Rad & Fatemeh Asgari

  2. Department of Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology and Hepatology Section, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Mohsen Nasiri Toosi

  3. Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics and COE in Biomathematics, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

    Ali Masoudi-nejad & Ali Najafi

  4. Department of Nano Medicine, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Ramin Rahimnia

  5. Department of Human Resource Management and Organizational Development, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Alireza Namazi Shabestari

  6. Department of Mycology and Parasitology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Gholamreza Hassanpour

  7. Research Center for Gastroenterology and Liver Disease, Baqiatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Seyed-Moayed Alavian

  8. Center for Disease Control, Deputy of Health, Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Tehran, Iran

    Freshteh Asgari

Authors
  1. Katayoun Samimi-Rad
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  2. Mohsen Nasiri Toosi
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  3. Ali Masoudi-nejad
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  4. Ali Najafi
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  5. Ramin Rahimnia
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  6. Fatemeh Asgari
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  7. Alireza Namazi Shabestari
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  8. Gholamreza Hassanpour
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  9. Seyed-Moayed Alavian
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  10. Freshteh Asgari
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Katayoun Samimi-Rad.

Additional information

GenBank accession numbers: Partial sequences of the NS5B gene of hepatitis C virus obtained in this study were deposited in GenBank under the accession numbers JQ433573 to JQ433655.

* The release date of these sequence data to the public database is on 01 March 2012.

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Samimi-Rad, K., Nasiri Toosi, M., Masoudi-nejad, A. et al. Molecular epidemiology of hepatitis C virus among injection drug users in Iran: a slight change in prevalence of HCV genotypes over time. Arch Virol 157, 1959–1965 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00705-012-1369-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00705-012-1369-9

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