Institute of Human Virology, Zhongshan School of Medicine, and Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Control of Ministry of Education, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
School of Medical Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
J Infect Dev Ctries. 2020 Dec 31;14(12):1470-1474. doi: 10.3855/jidc.10391.
Knowledge about the distribution of hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype and its correlation with viral load are important for the decision of treatment and the prediction of disease progression, however such information is very limited in Nepal. Here, we investigated the distribution of HCV genotypes and viral load for HCV-infected patients from Kathmandu, Nepal.
Ninety-six patients with HCV infection and not on antiviral therapy were enrolled from three different medical centers in Kathmandu valley, Nepal. Demographics were recorded and blood samples were collected. Plasma was separated and HCV RNA was extracted. Reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR) was performed to measure the viral load, and virus genotype was determined.
Genotype 3a (n = 53, 55.2%) was the most prevalent, followed by 1b (n = 19, 19.8%), 1a (n = 18, 18.8%), 5a (n = 3, 3.1%), and mix types (n = 3, 3.1%). The median viral load for HCV genotype 1a was 770,942 IU/mL (IQR, 215,268-3,720,075), 1b was 700,000 IU/mL (IQR, 431,560-919,000), 3a was 1,060,000 IU/mL (IQR, 641,050-6,063,500), 5a was 673,400 IU/mL, and mixed was 6,428,000 IU/mL. A correlation between genotype and viral load was observed (p = 0.02), of which genotype 3a showed a high viral load.
HCV genotypes 1a, 1b, 3a, and 5a were identified in Kathmandu, Nepal, and mixed genotype patients were observed in the patients studied. HCV genotype showed a correlation with viral load in patient plasma. This finding may contribute to the treatment and prevention of hepatitis C in Kathmandu, Nepal.
了解丙型肝炎病毒（HCV）基因型的分布及其与病毒载量的相关性对于治疗决策和疾病进展预测非常重要，但尼泊尔的相关信息非常有限。在此，我们调查了来自尼泊尔加德满都的 HCV 感染患者的 HCV 基因型和病毒载量分布。
从尼泊尔加德满都山谷的三个不同医疗中心招募了 96 名未接受抗病毒治疗的 HCV 感染患者。记录人口统计学资料并采集血样。分离血浆并提取 HCV RNA。进行逆转录酶 PCR（RT-PCR）以测量病毒载量，并确定病毒基因型。
最常见的基因型为 3a（n = 53，55.2%），其次为 1b（n = 19，19.8%）、1a（n = 18，18.8%）、5a（n = 3，3.1%）和混合类型（n = 3，3.1%）。HCV 基因型 1a 的中位病毒载量为 770,942 IU/mL（IQR，215,268-3,720,075），1b 为 700,000 IU/mL（IQR，431,560-919,000），3a 为 1,060,000 IU/mL（IQR，641,050-6,063,500），5a 为 673,400 IU/mL，混合为 6,428,000 IU/mL。观察到基因型与病毒载量之间存在相关性（p = 0.02），其中基因型 3a 显示出高病毒载量。
在尼泊尔加德满都鉴定出 HCV 基因型 1a、1b、3a 和 5a，并在研究患者中观察到混合基因型患者。HCV 基因型与患者血浆中的病毒载量相关。这一发现可能有助于尼泊尔加德满都的丙型肝炎治疗和预防。
