Viral Hepatitis in Khuzestan Province, South-West of Iran: A Review of Published Data

Abstract

Introduction: Viral hepatitis is still remaining to be one of the major causes of chronic hepatitis worldwide and a potential cause of substantial morbidity and mortality in the future. This is a brief review of published DATA about viral hepatitis in Khuzestan province. Methods: By searching scholar search engines from 1986 to 2012 for terms of Khuzestan Province, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and viral hepatitis. Findings: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) prevalence has decreased dramatically in our population during the last decade, but Improvement of the people's knowledge about HBV risk factors, national vaccination program and vaccination of high risk groups should be continued. Hepatitis C infection is becoming the leading cause of liver diseases in many parts of the world. In Iran, it seems that its prevalence in general population is less than 1%. Khuzestan province in south west of Iran has special demographic and socioeconomic features. In this province different patterns of hepatitis viruses' distribution are found. Hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection is endemic but seropositivity for anti-HEV antibodies has been observed in volunteer blood donors. The Khuzestan region has a similar rate of HBV carriers in the country affecting mainly children and young adults, Hepatitis delta virus (HDV) is also highly endemic in our region with rates varying from 3.59% to 45.5% among HBs Ag carriers. Most of the HCV epidemiology relies mainly upon HCV seroprevalence studies in selected groups in our province so a population-based study representative of an entire community is needed. Conclusion: The epidemiology of viral hepatitis in Khuzestan has not been well-characterized and high-quality studies of the seroprevalence and the major modes of transmission in this area should be made available. More emphasis should be given to the preventive measures of these diseases. We recommend to inform and educate the public and press regarding these diseases to create awareness among the general population by the use of media and/or training programs.