This article has been accepted for publication and undergone full peer review but has not been through the copyediting, typesetting, pagination and proofreading process, which may lead to differences between this version and the Version of Record. Please cite this article as doi: 10.1002/jmv.25279. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. Accepted Article Farah Bokharaei-Salim ORCID iD: 0000-0002-5367-0847 Detection of HCV Genome in Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells of Iranian Seropositive and HCV RNA negative in Plasma of Patients with Beta-thalassemia Major: Occult HCV Infection Roya Kahyesh-Esfandiary 1 , Zohreh-Azita Sadigh 2 , Maryam Esghaei 3 , Mohammad-Navid Bastani 3 , Tahereh Donyavi 4, 5 , Alireza Najafi 4 , Atousa Fakhim 6 , and Farah Bokharaei-Salim* 3, 4 1 Razi Vaccine and Serum Research Institute, Karaj, Iran 2. Human Viral Vaccine Department, Razi Vaccine and Serum Research Institute, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Karaj, Iran 3 Department of Virology, School of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran 4 HIV Laboratory of National Center, Vice Chancellor for Health, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran 5 Vice Chancellor for Health, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran 6 Department of Architectural Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Islamic Azad University, South Tehran Branch, Tehran, Iran Roya Kahyesh-Esfandiary: Master of Science Student of Virology, Razi Vaccine and Serum Research Institute, Karaj, Iran Zohreh-Azita Sadigh: PhD of Virology, Human Viral Vaccine Department, Razi Vaccine and Serum Research Institute, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Karaj, Iran Maryam Esghaei: Assistant Professor of Virology, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Mohammad-Navid Bastani: Master of Science of Virology, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Tahereh Donyavi: MD, MPH, PhD of Medical Biotechnology, HIV Laboratory of National Center, Deputy of Health, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran, and Vice Chancellor for Health, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Alireza Najafi: Master of Science of Immunology, HIV Laboratory of National Center, Deputy of Health, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Atousa Fakhim: Student of Architectural Engineering, Islamic Azad University, South Tehran Branch, Tehran, Iran Farah Bokharaei-Salim*: Assistant Professor of Virology, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran, and Technical Assistant, HIV Laboratory of National Center, Vice Chancellor for Health, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran *Correspondence to: Farah Bokharaei-Salim, Department of Virology, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran