Genotype distribution of hepatitis C virus infection in Taiwan.
To investigate the prevalence of genotype distribution of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in Taiwan, genotypes were identified in 122 (36 anti-HCV-positive blood donors, 44 anti-HCV-positive aborigines, 28 hemodialysis patients, and 14 patients with chronic liver diseases) of 280 subjects, using polymerase chain reaction by Okamoto's type-specific primer method. Type II was the dominant (66.7%) type among anti-HCV-positive blood donors, followed by type III and type IV with the same percentages (16.7%), while none of type I was detected. The prevalence of genotype distribution were 75.0%, 81.1%, and 64.3% for type II, 4.6%, 17.9%, and 21.4% for type III, 13.6%, 0%, and 7.1% for type IV, for the aborigines, hemodialysis, and chronic liver diseases groups, respectively. Four subjects revealed mixed infections by two different genotypes: two cases of II and III; and each one case of II and IV, and III and IV. Diverse genotype distributions in two hemodialysis groups disclose the existence of obvious regional differences even within a region. The results reveal the highest prevalence of type II as in Japan. However, there is a higher prevalence rate of type IV than in Japan.
Wu
J S
JS
National Institute of Preventive Medicine, Taipei Medical College, Republic of China.
Lee
H F
HF
Hsiau
H L
HL
Lu
H Y
HY
Chou
W H
WH
Lu
C F
CF
Chen
H Y
HY
Lee
F N
FN
Chen
P Y
PY
Tam
K M
KM
D001483:Base Sequence; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005838:Genotype; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology*; D006801:Humans; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000821:virology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015995:Prevalence; D006435:Renal Dialysis; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology