Prevalence of Co-infection by Human Papillomavirus, Epstein-Barr Virus and Merkel Cell Polyomavirus in Iranian Oral Cavity Cancer and Pre-malignant Lesions

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is recognized as the most important risk factor in oral cavity cancer and premalignant lesions; however, the etiological association of concomitant infection with other oncogenic viruses as a co-factor has not been definitively proven. The present study aimed to determine the prevalence of coinfection with HPV, Epstein�Barr virus (EBV) and Merkel Cell PolyomaVirus (MCPyV) in oral cavity lesions in Iranian patients. One hundred and fourteen oral cavity samples, including 33 oral squamous cell carcinoma, 28 oral lichen planus, 16 oral epithelial dysplasia and 37 oral irritation fibromas were analyzed for the HPV, EBV and MCPyV infection by quantitative real-time PCR. According to histological features 32.5 and 28.9 of cases were oral irritation fibroma and oral squamous cell carcinoma, respectively. Infection with at least two viruses was detected in 21.1 of patients. In this group, co-infection with HPV/EBV was identified in 37.5 of cases, HPV/MCPyV in 29.2, EBV/MCPyV in 12.5, and HPV/EBV/MCPyV in 20.8. There was no statistically significant difference between multiple infections and anatomical locations of cancer. The prevalence of triple viral infection (HPV/EBV/MCPyV) in well differentiated tumors was higher than EBV or MCPyV single infection. This study revealed that co-infection of HPV, EBV and MCPyV can be detected in both malignant and non-malignant oral cavity tissues, and co-infection with all three viruses in well differentiated tumors can be shown as a synergistic hypothesis of the pathogenic role of these viruses in oral malignant transformation. © The Author(s). Publisher: Babol University of Medical Sciences This work is published as an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4). Non-commercial uses of the work are permitted, provided the original work is properly cited

A Large Retrospective Study of Epidemiological Characteristics of COVID-19 Patients in the North of Iran: Association between SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR Ct Values with Demographic Data

Objectives: To avoid worsening from mild, moderate, and severe diseases and to reduce mortality, it is necessary to identify the subpopulation that is more vulnerable to the development of COVID-19 unfavorable consequences. This study aims to investigate the demographic information, prevalence rates of common comorbidities among negative and positive real-time reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) patients, and the association between SARS-CoV-2 cycle threshold (Ct) at hospital admission, demographic data, and outcomes of the patients in a large population in Northern Iran. Methods: This large retrospective cross-sectional study was performed from 7 March to 20 December 2020. Demographic data, including gender, age, underlying diseases, clinical outcomes, and Ct values, were obtained from 8,318 cases suspected of COVID-19, who were admitted to four teaching hospitals affiliated to Babol University of Medical Sciences (MUBABOL), in the north of Iran. Results: Since 7 March 2020, the data were collected from 8,318 cases suspected of COVID-19 (48.5 female and 51.5 male) with a mean age of 53�±�25.3 years. Among 8,318 suspected COVID-19 patients, 3,250 (39.1) had a positive rRT-PCR result; 1,632 (50.2) patients were male and 335 (10.3) patients died during their hospital stay. The distribution of positive rRT-PCR revealed that most patients (464 (75.7)) had a Ct between 21 and 30 (Group B). Conclusion: Elderly patients, lower Ct, patients having at least one comorbidity, and male cases were significantly associated with increased risk for COVID-19-related mortality. Moreover, mortality was significantly higher in patients with diabetes, kidney disease, and respiratory disease. Copyright © 2022 Farzin Sadeghi et al

One-year prevalence and the association between SARS-CoV-2 cycle threshold, comorbidity and outcomes in population of Babol, North of Iran (2020-2021)

Background: The present study aimed to investigate the one-year prevalence of SARS-CoV-2, common comorbidities and demographic information among negative- and positive rRT-PCR in health care workers (HCW), hospitalized and outpatients. Also, the association between SARS-CoV-2 cycle threshold (Ct) and the outcomes of patients were analyzed in Babol, northern Iran. Methods: This large retrospective cross-sectional study was performed between March 2020 and March 2021. The records of 19232 hospitalized, outpatients and HCW suspected to COVID-19 were collected from teaching hospitals in the North of Iran. Results: Out of the 19232 suspected to COVID-19 patients, 7251 (37.7) had a positive rRT-PCR result; 652 (9), 4599 (63.4) and 2000 (27.6) of those were categorized as HCW, hospitalized and outpatients, respectively. Moreover, between the hospitalized and the outpatient group, 10.2 and 0.8 cases died, whereas no death cases were reported in the HCW. Furthermore, it seems that death rate was significantly different between the three groups of Ct value, the highest mortality in those with Ct between 21 and 30 (group B=7.6) and the lowest in the group with the highest Ct (between 31 and 40 = 5.5) (p<0.001). Conclusion: In summary, 37.7 of cases were positive for SARS-CoV-2; of which, 63.4, 27.6 and 9 were hospitalized, outpatients and HCW, respectively. With regard to the mortality rate in hospitalized patients and the significant association with Ct under 20 and 30, it seems that the early detection and the initial quantification of SARS-CoV-2 in the first week of the conflict and therapeutic considerations to reduce the relative load can reduce the mortality rate. © The Author(s)