Beta (β)
thalassemia major is a genetic blood disorder with a deficiency in the
hemoglobin beta chain, requiring
blood transfusion therapy. Multiple
blood transfusions increase the risk of transmitting
blood-borne infections. The aim of this study is to determine the frequency of hepatitis C virus (HCV)
infection in Iranian individuals with β-
thalassemia major. A total of 164 patients with β-
thalassemia major were recruited for this study. HCV
RNA testing was done on plasma and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from the HCV seropositive samples (with
reverse transcriptase-nested polymerase chain reaction [PCR] method using primers from the
5'-untranslated region [UTR]), and all HCV
RNA positive samples were genotyped by the restriction fragment length polymorphism assay. For confirmation of the HCV genotyping in PBMCs of occult HCV
infection [OCI]-positive patients, the PCR products of two different regions of HCV (
5'-UTR and nonstructural
protein 5B [NS5B]) were sequenced. Of 164 patients, 29.3% were positive for
anti-HCV antibodies, and HCV
RNA was detected in the plasma specimens of 13.4% patients and in the PBMC samples of 15.2% participants. The genomic HCV-
RNA was detected in PBMC samples in 3 (6.3%) of the total 48 individuals who were HCV seropositive, and plasma HCV-
RNA negative (occult HCV
infection). The subtypes of HCV in the plasma and PBMC samples of three participants were not identical. This study shows that among this group of Iranian patients with β-
thalassemia major, 13.4% had active HCV
infection and 6.3% had occult HCV
infection as evidenced by HCV
RNA detected in PBMC specimens. Therefore, the design of a prospective study that focuses on the diagnosis of OCI can be very valuable and provide more information.