title: Hepatitis C virus population analysis of a single-source nosocomial outbreak reveals an inverse correlation between viral load and quasispecies complexity.
abstract: The features of Hepatitis C virus (HCV) quasispecies within an envelope segment including the hypervariable region 1 were analysed at an early time point post-infection in seven patients that acquired HCV from a single common donor during a nosocomial outbreak. The grouping of patients according to viral load was reflected in the structure of the quasispecies. A higher viral load correlated with the presence of a predominant HCV genome and a corresponding lower quasispecies complexity. The quasispecies complexity itself was not correlated with HCV clearance or persistence. Thus, the relationship between an intrapatient HCV quasispecies and the clinical outcome of an HCV infection is more complex than previously anticipated.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ciencias Experimentales y de la Salud, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Dr. Aiguader 80, 08003 Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mas
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ciencias Experimentales y de la Salud, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Dr. Aiguader 80, 08003 Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Encarna
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ulloa
authors.affiliation: Hepatología, Instituto de Enfermedades Digestivas, Hospital Clinic, 08036 Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Miguel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bruguera
authors.affiliation: Hepatología, Instituto de Enfermedades Digestivas, Hospital Clinic, 08036 Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Ivana
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Furčić
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ciencias Experimentales y de la Salud, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Dr. Aiguader 80, 08003 Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Damià
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Garriga
authors.affiliation: Hospital Figueres, 17600 Girona, Spain.
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fábregas
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ciencias Experimentales y de la Salud, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Dr. Aiguader 80, 08003 Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Andreu
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biotecnología, Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria, 28040 Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Juan Carlos
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Saiz
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ciencias Experimentales y de la Salud, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Dr. Aiguader 80, 08003 Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Juana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Díez
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000821:virology*; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D019562:Viral Load