Objective. Knowledge regarding the prevalence and risk factors of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection among pregnant women can give clue to health care providers regarding the appropriate management of HCV infection. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the prevalence, genotypic pattern, and risk factors of HCV infection among pregnant women in the northern shores of the Persian Gulf, south of Iran. Methods. From January 2018 to June 2019, serum samples were obtained from 1425 pregnant women, ages ranging from 14 to 46 years (). Serum samples were tested for detection of anti-HCV antibodies using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) (HCV Ab ELISA kit, Dia.Pro, Milan, Italy). Following the extraction of nucleic acid, the molecular evaluation of HCV infection was performed by seminested reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction assay (RT-PCR), targeting the 5 untranslated region (5UTR) and core of HCV genome and sequencing. Results. Of the 1425 pregnant women, 19 women (1.33%, 95% CI: 0.85%–2.07%) were positive for anti-HCV antibodies. The majority of HCV-seropositive women were in the third trimester of pregnancy, educated, and had a history of blood transfusion, abortion, surgery, or dentistry. Moreover, Arab and Fars pregnant women and those aged >39 years had the highest rate of HCV seroprevalence. Nevertheless, none of these variables were significantly associated with HCV seropositivity. In contrast, HCV seropositivity was associated with place of residency, so that residents of Khormuj city had significantly higher HCV seroprevalence compared to the residents of other cities (OR: 7.05; 95% CI: 1.75–28.39; ). According to the molecular evaluation, 9 of the 19 HCV-seropositive pregnant women (47.37%) had HCV viremia with genotype 3a. Conclusion. This study reports the HCV prevalence of 1.33% for anti-HCV antibodies and 0.63% for HCV RNA among pregnant women in the south of Iran. Considering the asymptomatic nature of chronic HCV infection and the fact that vertical transmission is possible in women with detectable viremia, therefore, screening of women before pregnancy is recommended to reduce the risk of HCV infection and its complications during pregnancy.

中文翻译：

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伊朗孕妇丙型肝炎病毒感染的流行率和主要基因型及相关危险因素

客观。关于孕妇丙型肝炎病毒 (HCV) 感染的流行率和危险因素的知识可以为医疗保健提供者提供有关适当管理 HCV 感染的线索。因此，本研究旨在确定伊朗南部波斯湾北岸孕妇中 HCV 感染的流行率、基因型模式和危险因素。方法。从 2018 年 1 月至 2019 年 6 月，从 1425 名孕妇中获取血清样本，年龄从 14 岁到 46 岁不等（）。使用酶联免疫吸附试验（ELISA）（HCV Ab ELISA 试剂盒，Dia.Pro，Milan，Italy）测试血清样品的抗 HCV 抗体检测。提取核酸后，通过半巢式逆转录酶-聚合酶链反应测定（RT-PCR）对HCV基因组的5个非翻译区（5UTR）和核心进行测序，对HCV感染进行分子评估。结果. 在 1425 名孕妇中，19 名女性（1.33%，95% CI：0.85%–2.07%）抗 HCV 抗体阳性。大多数 HCV 血清反应阳性的女性处于妊娠晚期，受过教育，并且有输血、流产、手术或牙科病史。此外，阿拉伯和法尔斯孕妇和年龄 > 39 岁的 HCV 血清阳性率最高。然而，这些变量中没有一个与 HCV 血清学阳性显着相关。相比之下，HCV 血清学阳性与居住地相关，因此霍尔木吉市居民的 HCV 血清学阳性率显着高于其他城市的居民（OR：7.05；95% CI：1.75-28.39；）。根据分子学评估，19 名 HCV 血清学阳性孕妇中有 9 名（47.37%）患有基因型 3a 的 HCV 病毒血症。结论。这项研究报告了伊朗南部孕妇中抗 HCV 抗体和 HCV RNA 的 HCV 患病率为 1.33% 和 0.63%。考虑到慢性 HCV 感染的无症状性质以及在可检测到病毒血症的女性中可能发生垂直传播的事实，因此，建议在怀孕前对女性进行筛查，以降低怀孕期间感染 HCV 及其并发症的风险。