title: Epidemiologic survey and genetic analysis of endemic hepatitis C virus infection in a Japanese town with a high prevalence of hepatitis B virus carriers.
abstract: Mass screening for hepatitis C virus antibody was carried out in 875 inhabitants (313 men and 562 women) of a town in Japan with a high rate of hepatitis B virus infection. The overall rate of positivity for anti-HCV was 8.8% (6.4% in men and 10.1% in women). The rate of positivity for hepatitis B virus surface antigen was 11.2%. Five subjects (0.6%) were positive for both markers. HCV-RNA was detected in 65 (88.4%) of 77 individuals who were positive for anti-HCV and in 1 (1.5%) of 60 individuals negative for anti-HCV. The genotype of the HCV genome was determined by PCR analysis using type-specific primers in 60 individuals. HCV type 1b was detected in 51 subjects (85%), type 2a in 3 subjects (5%), and type 2b in 6 subjects (10%). None of the individuals was infected with more than one genotype. The nucleotide sequences of the partial nonstructural 5 region of HCV type 1b genotype obtained from 6 individuals showed at least 92.0% homology in the nucleotide sequence, and 94.8% homology in the amino acid sequence. Homology among these clones was greater than their homology with previously described type 1b sequences. The findings suggest that there was a specific local origin of HCV infection, although it was not possible to identify any single source of HCV infection. The results also indicate that presence of asymptomatic HCV carriers.
authors.affiliation: Third Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Niigata University, Japan.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tawaraya
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ohkoshi
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kuwana
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kamimura
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Asakura
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D002353:Carrier State / Q000175:diagnosis*; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies / Q000097:blood; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens / Q000097:blood; D006515:Hepatitis B virus / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D015995:Prevalence; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral; D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies