title: Characteristics of hepatitis C virus among intravenous drug users in Iceland.
abstract: According to antibody analysis, approximately two of every three intravenous drug users in Iceland have become infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV). In this study, serum samples from 55 HCV antibody-positive intravenous drug users (39 males and 16 females) were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction, and the viral strains were grouped into genotypes. Only three genotypes--1a, 3a, and 1b--were found among the drug users. Of 40 persons who were positive by polymerase chain reaction, 23 (57.5%) had type 1a, 15 (37.5%) had type 3a, and one (2.5%) had type 1b. One serum sample was untypeable. HCV viral RNA was detectable in 84.6% of the males and 43.7% of the females, which is a significant difference between the sexes (p < 0.01). In addition, 41 randomly selected HCV antibody-positive intravenous drug users (17 males and 24 females) were tested for HCV viral RNA with a commercially available polymerase chain reaction technique. In this subset of drug users, 76.4% of the males and 33.3% of the females had detectable HCV RNA in their serum, which is also a significant sex difference (p < 0.01). This study shows that two HCV genotypes predominate among intravenous drug users in Iceland, and the results indicate that women eliminate virus more effectively than men.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Virology, University of Iceland, Reykjavík.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Löve
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Sigurdsson
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Stanzeit
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Briem
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Rikardsdottir
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Widell
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001483:Base Sequence; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D007055:Iceland / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000097:blood; D012737:Sex Factors; D015819:Substance Abuse, Intravenous / Q000821:virology*
chemical_list: D012367:RNA, Viral