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In this era in which the vast majority of the global population have developed COVID-19 infection and/or got vaccinated against it, identification of the late disorders as the vaccines' side effect or long-COVID manifestation seems essential. This study included the vaccinated individuals of 4 different vaccine regimens including inactivated virus-based, subunit protein, and adenovirus-based vaccines in a follow-up schedule 6-month post the booster shot. All the documented vaccine adverse events were thoroughly assessed considering the cases' medical history by Adverse Events Committee of Pasteur Institute of Iran. Totally 329 individuals who got 3 doses of vaccination were followed 6 months after the booster shots among whom 41 (12.4%) cases with the mean age of 40.9 ± 10.48 years had a type of disorder. Gynecological and osteoarticular involvements were the most common recorded disorders of which 73.1% were possibly linked to vaccination outcomes and the rest were affected by both long-COVID-19 and vaccination. Notably, the average time of symptoms persistence was 155 ± 10.4 days. This study has the advantage of long-term follow-up which presents various forms of late events in each episode of COVID-19 infection and vaccination. About 26.8% of people with persistent complications suffered from both long-COVOD/ vaccination in whom the differentiation between the vaccine side effect and long-COVID manifestation was quite challenging. Long-term follow-up studies in large population seems essential to outline the role of long-COVID and vaccination regarding persistent complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The epidemiological studies in Iran on HPV18 nucleotide changes are rare. This type of virus is prevalent in the Iranian population. Therefore, in the present study, we aimed to identify the genetic variability in HPV18 in the E6 region to evaluate the prevalence of lineage distribution and sublineages in a sample population in Iran. Overall, 60 HPV18 confirmed cases were investigated between 2019 and 2021. The specimens were collected, and molecular genotyping was done using the Linear Array HPV Genotyping Test. DNA extraction was performed by a viral DNA/RNA kit. The HPV E6 gene was amplified by using type-specific primers designed according to the HPV18 genome prototype sequence. The sequencing of the E6 region was successfully done on 43 samples which were then compared to the reference sequence. The most frequent sublineage of HPV18 in this study was A4 (69.7%), followed by A1 (18.6%) and A3 (11.6%). Neither A2 nor A5 sublineage was not detected in this study. The related nucleotide acid changes according to the main references were as follows: A3: T104C/T232G/T485C/C549A, A4: T104C/T485C/C549A. The predominance of A lineage with the high frequency of A4 sublineage was found in the present research. The importance of sublineages in susceptibility to a progressive form of infection requires to be more investigated among the different population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Among different types of human papillomavirus (HPV), types 16 and 18 were known to be high-risk agents causing mainly cervical cancer. Up to now, the potential of HPV E7 protein has been proved as a diagnostic marker of cervical cancer. Moreover, the levels of anti-heat shock protein (Hsp) and anti-high mobility group box-1 (HMGB1) antibodies in cancer patients have been useful in tumor diagnosis. The goal of the present study was to determine the efficiency of the potential serologic markers including HPV E7, Hsp20, Hsp27 proteins and Hp91 peptide in Iranian HPV-exposed women, for the first time.Methods: At first, the recombinant HPV E7, Hsp20 and Hsp27 proteins were expressed in E. coli system, and purified by affinity chromatography under native conditions. Then, antibody responses were detected against the recombinant proteins as well as Hp91 peptide as potential markers in 49 Iranian women who were seropositive for HPV-16 and 18 L1 capsids (i.e., HPV-exposed women) and 49 controls using indirect ELISA.Results: Our data indicated that the seroreactivities of women exposed to HPV16, HPV18 and both of them against the recombinant E7, Hsp20, Hsp27 proteins and Hp91 peptide were significantly higher than those in control group (p < 0.05 for HPV16 or HPV18; p < 0.01 for both of them versus all markers). HPV-exposed women with high antibody responses to HPV-16 and 18 L1 capsids as a commercial biomarker had significant seroreactivity to HPV-16 and 18 E7 and Hsp27 (p < 0.05). The recombinant E7 and Hsp27 proteins showed higher efficiency than Hsp20 and Hp91 for detection of individuals exposed to HPV infections (p < 0.05).Conclusion: Generally, the levels of serum E7 and Hsp27 were increased in HPV-16 and 18 L1- seropositive women suggesting their potential value as a diagnostic marker for HPV infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hepatitis A virus (HAV) is a major cause of acute viral hepatitis throughout the world. The severity of HAV clinical symptoms in infected cases is related to age. Age - specific seroprevalence studies are a reliable method to estimate the susceptibility rate to HAV in populations and can help establish vaccination implementation policies. Objectives: In this studyweaimedto determine the age - specificHAVseroprevalenceamong1 to 23 years subjects residing in Tehran, Iran. Methods: In this cross - sectional study, blood samples of 1120 cases (516 male and 604 female) referred to hospitals' biochemical laboratories in Tehran, Iran, between the ages of 1 - 23 years were tested for total hepatitis A antibody (anti - HAV) by ELISA. Stratification of the study population was conducted according to age. Results: The overall prevalence of total anti - HAV was 6% (95% CI: 4.74% - 7.52%). HAV prevalence rates according to age groups were as follows: 5.7% between 1 - 5 years, 1.7% between 6 - 10 years, 4.2% between 11 - 15 years, 5.5% between 16 - 19 years, and 15.3% between 20 - 23 years. Except the 6 - 10 year age group, an increase in HAV seropositivity was observed with age. Anti - HAV seropositivity in terms of age groups was significantly different from each other (P = 0.000). The HAV seroprevalence rate was 32.8% in males and 67.2% in females with a significant difference between genders (P = 0.025). Conclusions: Our study demonstrates that most young children are susceptible to HAV infection, whereas adolescents and young adults are at more risk for HAV acquisition. Therefore HAV vaccination of young children seems logic and beneficial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prevalence and variety complaints of COVID-19 cases in a long term have been investigated in recent studies. The symptoms over the time are various and unpredictable which may persist several weeks after full recovery. The importance of long-COVID-19 manifestations includes its effect on the recovered cases which requires a rational management based on an accurate guideline to handle post-acute COVID-19 state. The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence of post-acute COVID-19 syndrome and to identify the associated risk factors as well as to compare new and persistent symptoms at different post-acute phases. Totally 254 individuals from Pasteur Institute of Iran (or/and their relatives) were investigated who had a previously confirmed COVID-19 PCR test. The long-term manifestations of the virus were categorized through a time window as acute, ongoing, post-COVID and persistent phases and the individuals were assessed by the face-to-face or the phone call interview according to their complaints. The data were then statistically analyzed to determine the frequency of the symptoms and also the associated factors in which a p value < 0.05 was considered significant. Except a small asymptotic group of five, 249 cases progressed the symptoms to acute phase among which 64.1% reported at least one symptom in post-acute phase. Neurological sequelae were found as the most frequent symptom (91.6%). Furthermore, there was a significant association between the underlying diseases, age and acute phase symptoms to the post-acute phase syndrome susceptibility (p < 0.05). In conclusion, the increasing number of the reports and studies on long COVID-19 which can hugely affect the life quality should be more investigated and explored in terms of the pathophysiology to achieve appropriate treatments in time. The clusters of symptoms, specially a combination of neurological signs, presenting over months after the recovery impose a huge difficulty to the recovered population. [Display omitted] • Post-COVID-19 could possibly initiate long after full recovery and different window time. • Different manifestations of SARS-CoV-2 may not be resolved fully. • According to our findings, no association found between the patients' clinical history and COVID-19 long term side effects. • Unpredictable outcomes post-COVID-19 vaccination draw attentions as well as the viral effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There have been massive studies to develop an effective vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 which fortunately led to manage the recent pandemic, COVID-19. According to the quite rapidly developed vaccines in a fast window time, large investigations to assess the probable vaccine-related adverse events are crucially required. COVID-19 vaccines are available of different platforms and the primary clinical trials results presented acceptable safety profile of the approved vaccines. Nevertheless, the long-term assessment of the adverse events or rare conditions need to be investigated. The present systematic review, aimed at classification of probable vaccine-related unsolicited adverse events in Iranian population through the data collection of the published case report studies.The related published case reports were explored via PubMed, Web of Science and Google scholar according to the available published data up to 14 th Dec, 2022 using PRISMA guideline. Out of 437 explored studies, the relevant data were fully investigated which totally led to 40 studies, including 64 case reports with a new onset of a problem post-vaccination. The cases were then classified according to the various items, such as the type of adverse event and COVID-19 vaccines.The reported COVID-19 vaccines in the studied cases included BBIBP-CorV, ChAdOx1-S, Sputnik V and COVAXIN. The results showed that the adverse events presented in 8 different categories, including cutaneous involvements in 43.7% (n = 28), neurologic problems (n = 16), blood/vessel involvement (n = 6), cardiovascular involvement (n = 5), ocular disorders (n = 4), liver disorder/failure (n = 2), graft rejection (n = 2) and one metabolic disorder. Notably, almost 60% of the cases had no comorbidities. Moreover, the obtained data revealed nearly half of the incidences occurred after the first dose of injection and the median duration of improvement after the symptom was 10 days (range: 2-120). In addition, 73% of all the cases were either significantly improved or fully recovered. Liver failure following ChAdOx1-S vaccination was the most serious vaccine adverse event which led to death in two individuals with no related medical history.Although the advantages of COVID-19 vaccination is undoubtedly significant, individuals including with a history of serious disease, comorbidities and immunodeficiency conditions should be vaccinated with the utmost caution. This study provides a comprehensive overview and clinical implications of possible vaccine-related adverse events which should be considered in further vaccination strategies. Nevertheless, there might be a bias regarding potential under-reporting and missing data of the case reports included in the present study. Although the reported data are not proven to be the direct vaccination outcomes and could be a possible immune response over stimulation, the people the population with a medium/high risk should be monitored after getting vaccinated against COVID-19 of any platforms. This could be achieved by a carefull attention to the subjects ' medical history and also through consulting with healthcare providers before vaccination., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Despite access to efficient hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccine and universal immunization schedules, HBV infection remains a global health concern. HBV infection has decreased by this program. Nevertheless, breakthrough infections occur due to generation of occult HBV infection (OBI) and surface gene mutants in the immunized population. We aimed to determine the presence of OBI in a population born after initiation of nationwide HBV vaccination in Tehran, Iran. A HBV mass vaccination schedule was launched in Iran in 1993. For this study, we enrolled 1120 cases younger than 24 years. ELISA was applied to evaluate the presence of HBsAg, anti-HBs and anti-HBc. HBV-DNA presence was determined in all HBsAg-negative cases using nested polymerase chain reaction. The prevalence of HBsAg, anti-HBc and anti-HBs was 0.1, 0.54 and 39.9% respectively. Out of 6 anti-HBc-positive individuals, 4 cases also had anti-HBs. One case revealed HBsAg co-existence and the other one showed isolated anti-HBc. HBV-DNA was not detected in HBsAg-negative specimens. A very low prevalence of HBsAg and isolated anti-HBc was observed and no occult HBV infection was detected. It seems that evasion mutants are not a potential threat for HBV universal immunization efficacy in the vaccinated population.

Background: The introduction of direct acting antivirals (DAAs) for hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment promises shorter treatment duration, higher cure rates and fewer side effects. Naturally, occurring Resistance Associated Substitutions (RASs) are major challenge to the success of the HCV antiviral therapy., Aim: To determine the naturally occurring NS5A and NS5B RASs in Iranian HCV and HCV/human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) patients., Methods: A total of 209 DAA-naïve chronic HCV patients including 104 HCV mono-infected and 105 HCV/HIV co-infected cases were enrolled. Amplification and Sanger population sequencing of NS5A and NS5B regions of HCV genome were carried out. The amino acid sequence diversity of the NS5A and NS5B regions were analyzed using geno2pheno HCV., Results: NS5A RASs were detected in 25.5% of HCV and 16.9% of HCV/HIV subjects. In HCV cases, clinically relevant RASs were L28M followed by M28Vand Q30H and Y93H/N. In HCV/HIV subjects, clinically relevant RASs were Y93H/N followed by L28M and P58T and M28V/T and Q30R. NS5B RASs were observed in 11.8% of HCV and 5.9% of HCV/HIV subjects. Clinically relevant substitutions were included V321A/I, C316Y, S282R and L159F. The major S282T mutation was not observed., Conclusion: The emergence of RASs is a growing issue in the setting of current treatment with DAAs. Although currently, screening of RASs is recommended before specific DAA regimens, it should be consider in patients with therapeutic failure and in the cases of retreatment., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Human parvovirus B19 (B19) infection is common among blood donors, and healthy blood donors can transmit virus via transfusion. Due to resistance of B19 to viral inactivation methods, there is a potential concern regarding transfusion safety in blood products. We aimed to determine the seroprevalence, molecular epidemiology, and quantitation of B19 DNA levels in blood donors in Tehran, Iran. A total of 500 blood donors from Blood Transfusion Research Center were studied. ELISA was used for detection of B19 IgG and IgM and nested PCR was carried out for detection of B19 DNA. PCR products were subjected to direct sequencing. B19 viral load was determined by real time PCR. B19 IgG, IgM, and DNA were detected in 27.6, 2.6, and 1.2% of donors respectively. Ten samples (2%) were positive for both antibodies while in four cases (0.8%), B19 IgG and DNA detected simultaneously. One case had B19 IgM, IgG, and viremia concurrently. The titers of B19 DNA in four of six donors were more than 10 6  IU/mL (high level viremia) and all four cases had IgG simultaneously. All B19 isolates categorized in genotype 1A. Our findings indicated that prevalence of B19 DNA in Iranian blood donors was comparable with previous studies throughout the world. High level B19 viremia found in 0.8% of our donors and all viremic donors revealed neutralizing B19 antibody. Therefore implementation of a B19 screening test for each volunteer blood donor does not appear to be necessary but B19 testing for plasma-derived products seems important in Iranian donors., (© 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)