We randomly selected 6583 subjects from three provinces in Iran for inclusion in the study. Subjects were aged between 18 and 65 years. Anti-hepatitis C antibody was tested by a third-generation ELISA test. A recombinant immunoblot assay (RIBA) test was used to confirm the results. Risk factors were recorded and a multivariate analysis was performed.
A total of 5684 plasma samples were tested. After confirmatory tests, we found 50 cases of HCV. The overall weighted prevalence of anti-HCV was 0.5 % . The rate was significantly higher in men (1.0 % ) than in women (0.1 % ). In multivariate analysis, male sex, history of intravenous drug abuse, and imprisonment were significantly associated with anti-HCV.
We found the prevalence of HCV infection in Iran to be higher than previous estimates. It appears that the rate is rising, and in the future, hepatitis C will replace hepatitis B as the most common cause of chronic viral liver disease in Iran.