Frequency of Epstein-Barr virus among Hemodialysis Patients, Ahvaz, Iran

Background and Objectives: Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) has infected more than 90% of adults worldwide. EBV infection is asymptomatic in healthy individuals and is controlled by a robust immune response while in individuals with weakened immune systems including Hemodialysis (HD) patients and transplant recipients, it leads to serious illnesses. This study aimed to investigate the frequency of EBV among the HD patients. Materials and Methods: The cross-sectional study was carried out on 84 HD patients. The sera were checked for anti-EBV (VCA) IgG Ab assessment using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The DNA was extracted from the sera samples and tested for EBV DNA using nested PCR. Results: 52/84 (61.9%) of HD were male and 32/84 (38.1%) were female. The average age of participants was within 18 - 85 years while the mean age was 52 ± 1.57 SD years. 81 of 84 (96.42%); including 49/52 (94.23%) male and 32/32 (100%) female, were positive for anti-EBV (VCA) IgG antibody while 3 (3.58%) were negative. No significant differences were observed between the subjects regarding gender (P=0.28). EBV DNA was detected in 7 (8.33%) individuals, including 6 (11.53%) and 1 (3.12%) in male and female, respectively (P=0.24). Conclusion: Our study results showed that high prevalence rates of anti-EBV (VCA) IgG antibody (96.42%) were observed among the HD patients. Although the status of EBV latency was not performed, it seems many of these patients are at risk of EBV-reactivation during the organ transplantation. As a result, it is recommended that the detection of EBNA-1 gene as a marker of EBV latency should be implemented for all HD patients to prevent EBV reactivation during organ transplantation.