Molecular methods of hepatitis C genotyping.
Hepatitis C virus is an RNA virus that is associated with chronic infection in the majority of people infected. Chronic infection with hepatitis C virus is the cause of significant morbidity and mortality worldwide and is associated with a large spectrum of liver disease including cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. End-stage liver disease due to chronic hepatitis C virus infection is currently the leading indication for liver transplantation in the USA. Hepatitis C virus genotyping of viral isolates circulating in the blood during chronic infection has become an important part of hepatitis C virus monitoring in chronically infected patients, and is useful as a prognostic indicator and to direct duration of therapy. This review will summarize information on hepatitis C genotyping, describe the limitations of current commercially available methods, give information on more recently developed methods, and provide a look to the future in terms of where advances in hepatitis C virus genotyping assays need to be made.
Weck
Karen
K
University of North Carolina, Campus Box 7525, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7525, USA. kweck@unc.edu
D018740:Genetic Heterogeneity; D016679:Genome, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D005838:Genotype; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy / Q000821:virology*; D006801:Humans