Epidemiology of hepatitis C virus genotypes in northeastern Thai blood samples.
BACKGROUND
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is an important cause of liver cancer in Thailand. The highest prevalence of anti-HCV positive among Thai blood donors is found in the northeastern region. The present analysis of the genotype distribution among anti-HCV positive northeastern-Thai blood donors was conducted to provide a base for the epidemiological pattern of HCV infection in this region.


METHODS
A total of 112 HCV seropositive healthy blood donors were randomly selected and tested for the presence of HCV-RNA by RT-PCR. HCV-RNA positive samples were genotyped by direct sequencing at core region genomes and confirmed by phylogenetic analysis.


RESULTS
HCV viremia was found in 94.6% (106/112) of HCV seropositive blood donors. There were 3 major genotypes distributed among this population. HCV genotype 3a was the most prevalent (71.7%) followed by genotypes 1a (7.5%), 1b (7.5%), 6i (3.8%), 6f (2.8%) and 6n (1.9%).


CONCLUSIONS
HCV genotype 3a in asymptomatic infections in northeastern Thailand is significantly higher than other previous reports. Subgenotype 6 prevalence is less than in neighboring countries and distribution patterns differ. The findings are relevant as predictors for using interferon therapy in this population.
Centre for Research and Development of Medical Diagnostic Laboratories, Faculty of Associated Medical Sciences, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand E-mail : sahapat@kku.ac.th.
Sahapat
S
Barusrux
Chatchawan
C
Sengthong
Yupa
Y
Urwijitaroon
D000328:Adult; D001782:Blood Donors; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005838:Genotype; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000821:virology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D011379:Prognosis; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics*; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D013785:Thailand / Q000453:epidemiology
D012367:RNA, Viral