Full Length Research Paper

Molecular detection of hepatitis B virus (HBV) among voluntary blood donor's HBsAg positive in shahrekord, Iran

Elahe Tajbakhsh^1*, Hassan Momtaz², Manouchehr Momeni³ and Sodabe Hamedi⁴

¹Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Basic Science, Islamic Azad University, Shahrekord branch, P.O.Box:166, Shahrekord, Iran.

²Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Islamic Azad University, Shahrekord branch-Shahrekord- Iran.

³Biotechnology center, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Islamic Azad University, Shahrekord branch- Shahrekord- Iran.

⁴Biostatistic Medical University, Zabol

*Corresponding author. E-mail: ee_tajbakhsh@yahoo.com. Fax: 0098 3813348184.

Accepted 19 May, 2010

   Abstract

Hepatitis B virus, a common cause of viral hepatitis, consumes a large portion of health resources in developing countries. Hepatitis B virus (HBV) prevalence has been decreased dramatically in Iran population during the last decade, and now it is classified as having low endemicity for hepatitis B infection. Improvement of the people’s awareness about HBV risk factors, national vaccination program since 1993 for all neonates, and vaccination of high risk groups could be the cause of this decrease. In this investigation, we announce the detection of HBV- DNA sequence from 90 HBsAg positive blood donors in shahrekord by nested PCR, using specific primers of the surface antigen region of the HBV genome. Of the 11472 volunteer blood donors admitted to Shahrekord blood transfusion organization center in Iran during 2007 - 2008, 90 specimens were positive for HBsAg. From 90 HBsAg positive serum samples, 75 specimens were positive in PCR.

Key words: Blood donors, HBsAg positive, Hepatitis B, Iran, PCR, Shahrekord.