Detection and clinical features of hepatitis C virus type 6 infections in blood donors from Hong Kong

✍ Scribed by Prescott, L. E.; Simmonds, P.; Lai, C. L.; Chan, N. K.; Pike, I.; Yap, P. L.; Lin, C. K.

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1996
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 793 KB
• Volume: 50
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0146-6615
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1096-9071(199610)50:2<168::aid-jmv10>3.0.co;2-i

✦ Synopsis

The genotype distribution of hepatitis C virus (HCV) was investigated in 212 viraemic blood donors from Hong Kong. A subset of the samples was investigated using three different genotyping assays to establish the accuracy of each i n this population. These assays were restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) of amplified 5' noncoding region (5'NCR) sequences, RFLP of the core region, and a serotyping assay using peptides from two antigenic regions of NS4.

Genotypes detected in Hong Kong blood donors were l a (6.2%), I b (58.8%), 2a (1.4%), 2b (1.4%), 3a (1.9%), and 6a (27.0%). All genotyping assays produced concordant results. No evidence was obtained for the presence of type 6 group variants recently identified in Southeast Asia, other than type 6a. A serotyping assay based upon the detection of type-specific antibody to epitopes in NS4 produced similar results to the genotyping assays (98% concordance), but a reduced sensitivity (75%) compared with genotyping methods. Sequence variation in NS4 was not the cause of the reduced rate of detection of type 6 antibody in this population.

Eighty-four percent donors infected with type 6a were male, compared t o 75% donors infected with type 1 b. The median alanine transaminase (ALT) level in type 6 infected donors was lower than in type Ib, (43.8 and 51.1 U/I, respectively) although these values were not statistically significant ( P = 0.094). There was no significant difference between the ages of donors infected with types I b and 6a. Risk factors for HCV infection in the blood donors included blood transfusion, intravenous drug abuse, and tattooing. A significantly greater number of donors infected with HCV-6a reported a history of drug abuse (66%) than donors infected with HCV-lb (7%).