title: Seroprevalence and subtype distribution of hepatitis C virus among blood donors and intravenous drug users in northern/northeastern Thailand.
abstract: The prevalence of antibodies against hepatitis C virus (HCV) and the distribution pattern of HCV subtypes were analyzed among healthy blood donors and intravenous drug users (IVDUs) in northern/northeastern Thailand. The prevalence of anti-HCV antibodies was 3.2% (26/820) among blood donors in Khon Kaen, while it was 90% (71/79) among IVDUs in Chiang Rai. HCV RNA was detected in all anti-HCV-positive sera collected from blood donors and IVDUs tested, as determined by reverse transcription-PCR analysis. Sequence analyses of amplified fragments of the HCV genome revealed that in Khon Kaen and Chiang Rai, Thailand, HCV-3a (50-60%) was the most common HCV subtype, followed by HCV-1a, HCV-1b, and subtypes of clade 6, each at 10-20%.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Thailand.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Apichartpiyakul
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Apichartpiyakul
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Urwijitaroon
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gray
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Natpratan
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Katayama
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fujii
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hotta
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001782:Blood Donors / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010802:Phylogeny; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000097:blood; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D015819:Substance Abuse, Intravenous / Q000150:complications*; D013785:Thailand / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies; D012367:RNA, Viral