High prevalence of Hepatitis C virus genotype 6 in Vietnam.
This study aimed to update the prevalence of the various Hepatitis C virus genotypes in Vietnamese blood donors. One hundred and three HCV antibody-positive plasma samples were collected from blood donors at the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion, Hanoi, Vietnam. All specimens were subjected to RT-PCR of the 5' untranslated region (UTR) to confirm the presence of HCV RNA. The core and NS5B regions of thh positive samples were subsequently amplified by RT-PCR followed by direct sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. Seventy out of 103 samples (68.0%) were RNA positive. Core and NS5B were successfully amplified and sequences were obtained for 70 and 65 samples, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that genotype 6a was the most predominant among Vietnamese blood donors with a prevalence of 37.1% (26/70), followed by genotype 1a at 30.0% (21/70) and genotype 1b at 17.1% (12/70). The prevalence of two other genotype 6 variants, 6e and 61 was 8.6% and 1.4%, respectively. Further analysis of recent studies showed that the geographic distribution of genotype 6 covered mainly southern China and the mainland of Southeast Asia including Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar. The GenBank accession numbers for the sequences reported in this study are FJ768772-FJ768906.
Pham
Duc Anh
DA
Center for Scientific and Technical Research in Medicine and Pharmacy, Thai Binh Medical University, Vietnam.
Leuangwutiwong
Pornsawan
P
Jittmittraphap
Akanitt
A
Luplertlop
Nattanej
N
Bach
Hoa Khanh
HK
Akkarathamrongsin
Srunthron
S
Theamboonlers
Apiradee
A
Poovorawan
Yong
Y
D000328:Adult; D001483:Base Sequence; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000235:genetics* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics*; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D015995:Prevalence; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis*; D014744:Vietnam; D017361:Viral Nonstructural Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D014774:Virulence; D012324:RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase
D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies; D012367:RNA, Viral; D017361:Viral Nonstructural Proteins; C087036:NS-5 protein, hepatitis C virus; D012324:RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase