Department of Microbiology, Maulana Azad Medical College & Associated Lok Nayak Hospitals, New Delhi, India.
Indian J Med Res. 2011 Mar;133(3):326-31.
BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) has emerged as a leading cause of chronic hepatitis, liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma worldwide. Genotyping and assessment of the viral load in HCV patients is important for designing the therapeutic strategies. Thus the present study was designed to determine the distribution pattern of HCV genotypes in chronic hepatitis patients and their association with the viral load and biochemical profiles.
Seventy one HCV RNA positive patients were included in the study. HCV genotyping was carried out by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) followed by the direct sequencing of the core region. Viral load estimation was carried out by Taqman real time PCR system.
Sixty three per cent (45/71) of cases were infected with genotype 3 followed by genotype 1 in 30.98 per cent (22/71) and genotype 2 in 5.63 per cent (4/71) of cases. Genotype 1 was associated with a significantly (P<0.001) higher viral load as compared to genotypes 3 and 2. There was no significant difference seen in the biochemical profile between the three groups of genotypes except in the levels of SGOT. The commonest mode of transmission was parenteral which accounted for 68 per cent of all the infected cases.
INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSIONS: The present study revealed that HCV genotype 3 and 1 accounted for approximately 95 per cent of the HCV infection in Delhi and surrounding areas. Also two atypical subtypes like 3i and 3f were identified. Genotype 1 was associated with more severity of liver disease as compared to genotypes 3 and 2 as assessed by viral load.
丙型肝炎病毒（HCV）已成为全球慢性肝炎、肝硬化和肝细胞癌的主要病因。对 HCV 患者进行基因分型和病毒载量评估对于制定治疗策略非常重要。因此，本研究旨在确定慢性肝炎患者 HCV 基因型的分布模式及其与病毒载量和生化特征的关系。
纳入 71 例 HCV RNA 阳性患者。采用限制性片段长度多态性（RFLP）进行 HCV 基因分型，然后对核心区进行直接测序。采用 Taqman 实时 PCR 系统进行病毒载量估计。
63%（45/71）的病例感染基因型 3，其次是基因型 1（30.98%，22/71）和基因型 2（5.63%，4/71）。与基因型 3 和 2 相比，基因型 1 的病毒载量显著更高（P<0.001）。三组基因型之间的生化特征除 SGOT 水平外无显著差异。最常见的传播途径是注射途径，占所有感染病例的 68%。
本研究表明，HCV 基因型 3 和 1 约占德里及周边地区 HCV 感染的 95%。还鉴定出两种非典型亚型 3i 和 3f。与基因型 3 和 2 相比，基因型 1 的病毒载量与更严重的肝病相关。
