Background and aims: Type 1 diabetes is a multifactorial disease that combination of genetic and environmental factors can develop it. Viruses, Enteroviruses in particular, are major environmental candidates in the pathogenesis of type 1 diabetes. In order to clarify the relationship between Enteroviruses and type 1 diabetes mellitus in Iranian patients, it was investigated presence of enteroviral infection in serum from patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus.

Methods: In this case-control study, to detection enteroviral RNA, it was used Nested-PCR, and ELISA to detection different classes of anti-Enterovirus Abs. Statistical tests used in this study was Fisher's exact test and Chi-square.

Results: Nested-PCR for Enterovirus was positive in 12(34.2%) from 35 samples while only 1 healthy control (2.8%) was positive and there is a significant relationship between two groups (P<0.05). Anti-Enterovirus IgG antibody was positive in 13(37.1%) from 35 patients and this antibody in IgA class, was positive in 10(28.5%).While those antibodies were positive in 3(8.5%) and 2(5.7%) healthy people respectively (for both antibodies P<0.05). Also neither patients nor healthy people have anti-Enterovirus IgM antibody (P=1).

Conclusion: The results of this study show that the prevalence of enteroviral infection in people with type 1 diabetes is significantly higher than in healthy individuals. The study indicated some correlation between type 1 diabetes mellitus with Enteroviruses in studied population of patients.