title: Molecular epidemiology of hepatitis C virus subtype 3a in injecting drug users.
abstract: Hepatitis C virus subtype 3a (HCV-3a) originates from Asia and has spread widely among injecting drug users as well as other patient groups in industrialized countries. HCV subtype 3a infection remains highly prevalent and frequently transmitted in the population of intravenous drug users. The objective of this study was to understand better the mechanisms of the worldwide HCV-3a epidemics in drug users. Ninety-three sera from HCV-3a-infected IDUs from France, the United States, Brazil, Argentina, and Australia were studied. Phylogenetic analyses of the non-structural 5B region showed no specific clustering according to the continent of the patient's origin. Non-exclusive clusters of viral sequences from South America, Australia, and California were observed, but topologies were not supported by strong bootstrap values. The results suggest that HCV-3a has been transmitted from a common origin through a unique worldwide epidemic that rapidly spread among drug users. Regional transmission occurred in the recent past, leading to an embryonic genetic diversification of HCV-3a among local injecting drug user population.
authors.affiliation: Department of Virology & INSERM U635, French National Reference Center for Viral Hepatitis B, C and delta, Hôpital Henri Mondor, Université Paris 12, Créteil, France.
authors.forename: Yoann
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Morice
authors.forename: Jean-François
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Cantaloube
authors.forename: Stéphanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Beaucourt
authors.forename: Laetitia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Barbotte
authors.forename: Sija
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: De Gendt
authors.forename: Fernando Lopes
authors.initials: FL
authors.lastname: Goncales
authors.forename: Lesley
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Butterworth
authors.forename: Graham
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cooksley
authors.forename: Robert G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Gish
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Beaugrand
authors.forename: Fabian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Fay
authors.forename: Oscar
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Fay
authors.forename: Jorge E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Gonzalez
authors.forename: Regina Maria Bringel
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Martins
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dhumeaux
authors.forename: Bart
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Vanderborght
authors.forename: Lieven
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Stuyver
authors.forename: Erwin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sablon
authors.forename: Xavier
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: de Lamballerie
authors.forename: Jean-Michel
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Pawlotsky
mesh_terms: D001118:Argentina / Q000453:epidemiology; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D005602:France / Q000453:epidemiology; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D017720:Molecular Epidemiology; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D015819:Substance Abuse, Intravenous / Q000150:complications*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D017361:Viral Nonstructural Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D012324:RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase
chemical_list: D012367:RNA, Viral; D017361:Viral Nonstructural Proteins; C087036:NS-5 protein, hepatitis C virus; D012324:RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase