Genotypic analysis of HCV infection in kinmen.
In this report, stratified random sampling of an epidemiological study population from the town of Kin-Hu in the Kinmen Islands was used to create a subpopulation of 832 individuals. Two enzyme immunoassays (EIA) were used for antibody testing including Abbott's hepatitis C virus (HCV) EIA 2nd Generation and a synthetic peptide-EIA, NANBASE C-96-EIA, based on the locally predominant strain of HCV. In addition to RIBA and DBL immunoblot assays, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was employed to confirm HCV infection. Results showed that 20 of 832 (2.4%) adults in Kinmen had HCV infection. In terms of genotype distribution, 31.3% (5/16) were infected with both 1a and 1b genotypes, 25.0% (4/16) only with the 1b genotype, and 43.8% (7/16) with the 2a genotype. Through comparative analysis of RT-PCR, RIBA, and DBL results, we found that the sensitivities of RIBA and DBL could safely be increased by modifying the definition of a positive case. If the presence of a reactive band with > or = 2+ antibody reactivity to core protein is accepted as positive for overall RIBA or DBL testing, sensitivity is increased without adversely effecting specificity.
Liou
Y W
YW
Division of Preventive Medicine, Institute of Public Health, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
Chou
P
P
Chen
Y M
YM
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000145:classification*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000821:virology*; D006801:Humans; D015151:Immunoblotting; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction