Wu C H, Lee M F, Kuo H S
Department of Medical Research, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taiwan, ROC.
J Gastroenterol Hepatol. 1997 Oct;12(9-10):625-8. doi: 10.1111/j.1440-1746.1997.tb00524.x.
The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and distribution of hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotypes of blood donors in Taiwan. RNA was extracted from the serum of anti-hepatitis C virus-positive carriers and this was followed by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) using type-specific primers for the presence of HCV genotypes, 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, 3a and 6a. Of the 604 anti-HCV-positive specimens, the PCR demonstrated that 93.0% (562/604) were positive for at least one HCV genotype. The remaining 42 specimens (7%) were HCV negative. Among the 562 HCV-positive specimens, 505 (89.8%) contained HCV 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b and 3a as the only genotype, with a prevalence of 0.4% (2/562), 60.1% (338/562), 15.5% (87/562), 11.9% (67/562), and 2.0% (11/562), respectively. No HCV genotype 6a was found. Thirty-seven specimens (6.6%) exhibited mixed infections with multiple HCV genotypes that included types 1b, 2a and 2b, while 20 (3.5%) HCV RNA-positive sera remained unclassified. These results confirm that the predominant HCV genotype in Taiwan is 1b. In addition, genotypes 1a and 3a can also be found in Taiwan at low frequency.
本研究旨在调查台湾地区献血者丙型肝炎病毒（HCV）基因型的流行情况及分布。从抗丙型肝炎病毒阳性携带者的血清中提取RNA，随后使用针对HCV 1a、1b、2a、2b、3a和6a基因型的型特异性引物进行逆转录聚合酶链反应（RT-PCR）。在604份抗HCV阳性标本中，PCR结果显示93.0%（562/604）至少有一种HCV基因型呈阳性。其余42份标本（7%）HCV呈阴性。在562份HCV阳性标本中，505份（89.8%）仅含有HCV 1a、1b、2a、2b和3a基因型，其流行率分别为0.4%（2/562）、60.1%（338/562）、15.5%（87/562）、11.9%（67/562）和2.0%（11/562）。未发现HCV 6a基因型。37份标本（6.6%）表现为多种HCV基因型的混合感染，包括1b、2a和2b型，而20份（3.5%）HCV RNA阳性血清仍无法分型。这些结果证实台湾地区主要的HCV基因型是1b。此外，1a和3a基因型在台湾地区也能以低频率被检测到。
