Hepatitis C virus genotypes in belgian hemophiliacs

✍ Scribed by Li Sheng; Marc Willems; Kathelijne Peerlinck; Prof. Dr. Sing Hiem Yap; Jozef Vermylen

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1995
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 453 KB
• Volume: 45
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0146-6615
• DOI: 10.1002/jmv.1890450217

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

Hemophiliacs who have been exposed to un‐heated and/or dry heated pooled clotting factor concentrates are at a high risk of chronic hepatitis C. Serum HCV‐RNA was measured by reverse transcriptase‐polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) technique in 58 hemophiliacs positive for anti‐HCV antibodies, HCV‐RNA was detected in 55 patients. Based on the results of PCR positiv‐ity, HCV genotyping was carried out using genotype specific probes and the dot blot hybridization assay: 2 patients were found to be infected with type 1a (3.6%), 31 patients with type 1b (56.4%), 8 patients with type 2 (14.6%), 6 patients with type 3 (10.9%), 1 patient with type 4, and 7 patients with double infection (12.7%). As compared to a control group of 105 nonhemophilia patients with chronic hepatitis C, HCV genotype 1 b was found predominant in both groups. However, double infection with two HCV types as well as a relatively high prevalence of infection with type 2 and type 3 were found in hemophiliacs. © 1995 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.