[Genotypic heterogeneity of hepatitis C virus (HCV) from blood donors in the Czech Republic].
OBJECTIVE
Analysis of the genotypic distribution of HCV from blood donors screened in the Czech Republic in 1999-2007 and sequence heterogeneity of HCV isolates in the NS5 region of the HCV genome.


METHODS
A total of 402 archived serum samples from blood donors collected in 1999-2007 and confirmed positive for anti-HCV antibodies were tested for HCV RNA. In 220 HCV RNA positive sera, PCR was used to amplify a 401-nt fragment of the NS5 region of the HCV genome. The PCR product was sequenced and phylogenetic analysis of the obtained nucleotide sequences was carried out. Genotyping was performed based on the comparison with the sequence data available in the Genbank database. Regression analysis and non-parametric Pearson's chi-square test were used for statistical analysis of the distribution of genotypes by age, sex, sampling place and sampling year.


RESULTS
In a representative set of 188 blood donors from the Czech Republic, the following HCV genotypes were determined: 1b (66%), 1a (13.3%), 3 (19.7%), 2a (0.5%) and 2b (0.5%). In 1999-2007, genotype 1b showed a significantly decreasing trend while genotype 3a was becoming significantly more frequent and the incidence of genotype 1a remained unchanged. It was found that the proportion of genotype 1b rises with increasing age of blood donors in contrast to genotypes 1a a 3a. Genotype 1b was detected significantly more frequently in females and genotype 3a significantly predominated in males. Any significant difference was not found in the geographical distribution of HCV genotypes. The mean HCV viral load was 9.6 x 105 I.U./ml.


CONCLUSIONS
The predominant HCV genotype among blood donors in the Czech Republic is 1b, showing a significant downward trend in 1999-2007. The increasing prevalence of genotype 3a can be associated with changes in the route of HCV transmission, more precisely with the considerably increased incidence of HCV in injecting drug users over the last 15 years. Surprisingly, the incidence of genotype la remained unchanged over the study period.
Nēmecek
V
V
Národní referencní laborator pro virové hepatitidy, Státní zdravotní ustav, Praha. nemecek@szu.cz
Strunecký
O
O
D000328:Adult; D001782:Blood Donors; D018153:Czech Republic; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017423:Sequence Analysis, RNA; D055815:Young Adult