Frequency of blood-borne viral infections among leukemic patients in central Iraq

To determine the prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), cytomegalovirus (CMV), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and other epidemiological criteria among leukemic patients to establish basic knowledge for future leukemic patients care.

This cross-sectional study was carried out between February 2006 and June 2008 in the Children's Central Teaching Hospital and Medical City Teaching Hospital in Baghdad, Iraq. A total of 641 blood samples (291 samples from leukemic patients and 350 samples from controls) were collected and the sera were tested for the presence of HBV, HCV, CMV, EBV, and HIV serological markers.

A significantly higher prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) was detected among leukemic patients (32.3%) than controls (2.3%). The seroprevalence of anti-HBs was 29.9% among patients, and 20.6% among controls. This difference was also found to be statistically significant. A significantly higher prevalence of anti-HCV antibodies among leukemic patients (3.4%) than controls (0.3%) was also detected. A higher prevalence of IgG and IgM markers specific for CMV (96.2% and 12% for patients; 91.6% and 8% for controls), and for EBV (88.3% and 26.5% for patients; 75.1% and 13.4% for controls), were detected among leukemic patients than controls, while none of the patients and controls were positive for HIV I and II markers.

We conclude that HBV, HCV, CMV, and EBV infections are more prevalent among leukemic patients. There was an increase in the seropositivity rates of HCV, CMV, and EBV infections with increasing ages of leukemic patients. The male leukemic patients were more exposed to HBV, HCV, and EBV infections than females.