[Prevalence of types of hepatitis C virus in Spanish blood donors: results of a state-based multicenter study. Spanish Group for the Study of Blood Donors with Risk of HCV Transmission].
BACKGROUND
The prevalences established up to the present in Spain for the different types of hepatitis C virus are based on data obtained in populations in which the nature of the population itself may have based the data in favor of certain types of the virus. The study of seropositive blood donors identified through screening of blood donations may provide prevalences closer to the truth among the general population.


METHODS
Typing of genomes in samples from 441 donors was performed using the blood bank generated during the multicenter study performed by the Spanish Study Group of Blood Donors with Risk of Transmission of the Hepatitis C Virus. The antibodies present were typed in the seropositive samples in the above donors and in 337 more in whom a viral genoma was not detected.


RESULTS
In total, the infection was typed in 685 donors. On analysis of the results corresponding to 386 donors, whose number and distribution by autonomous communities were previously fixed to represent all of Spain, type 1 was largely the more prevalent (85.5%) followed by types 3 (4.4%), 2 (4.1%), 4 (3.4%) and 5 (0.5%) and by a group of apparent mixed infections which altogether represented 2.1% of the total. Among the donors in whom the genomes were typed, infectious due to the 1b subtype (78% of the 441 samples genotypes) clearly predominated. The participation of the different types of type 1 was significantly greater in those lacking antibodies detectable versus epitopes codified in the NS4 region of the viral genome.


CONCLUSIONS
This study avoids some bias in sampling which may have affected previous studies and provides data which should more closely approach the real prevalence in the general Spanish population. Thus, it should provide a better base of comparison for any study on the distribution of the types of the hepatitis C virus in selected populations or others performed during tha investigation of outbreaks of hepatitis C virus infection.
León
P
P
Servicio de Microbiología Diagnóstica, Centro Nacional de Epidemiología, Madrid.
López
J A
JA
Amela
C
C
Elola
C
C
Echevarría
J M
JM
D001782:Blood Donors; D005838:Genotype; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology*; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D013030:Spain
D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies