Hepatitis C virus genotypes in Kenya.
Hepatitis C virus is a great public-health concern worldwide. Phylogenetic analysis of the HCV genome has identified six different genotypes that have generally been divided into several subtypes. There is very little information on HCV seroprevalence and genotypes in Kenya. To determine the genotypes of HCV circulating in Kenya, blood donor samples were serologically tested and confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Positive samples were cloned and sequenced, and phylogenetic analysis conducted to determine the HCV genotypes. One hundred Murex-seropositive samples were re-tested using a passive hemagglutination test, and 16 of these were identified as seropositive. Further testing of all of the samples by PCR identified only 10 of the 16 samples as positive. Thus, only 10 % (10/100) of the samples were viremic. Six were from females (60 %), and four were from males (40 %). The mean age of the positive donors was considerably low, at 25 +/- 9 years. Genotypic testing indicated the presence of genotype 1a (10 %) and genotype 2b (90 %). This study reports on HCV genotypes in a blood donor population in Kenya where little had been done to provide information on HCV genotypes.
Center for Virus Research, Kenya Medical Research Institute, P.O. Box 54628, Nairobi, Kenya. mwangijose@yahoo.com.|Institute of Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Nairobi, Kenya. mwangijose@yahoo.com.
Joseph
J
Mwangi
Institute of Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Nairobi, Kenya.
Zipporah
Z
Nganga
Kenya Medical Research Institute, Nairobi, Kenya.
Solomon
S
Mpoke
Center for Virus Research, Kenya Medical Research Institute, P.O. Box 54628, Nairobi, Kenya.
Raphael
R
Lihana
Center for Virus Research, Kenya Medical Research Institute, P.O. Box 54628, Nairobi, Kenya.
Joyceline
J
Kinyua
Center for Virus Research, Kenya Medical Research Institute, P.O. Box 54628, Nairobi, Kenya.
Nancy
N
Lagat
Center for Virus Research, Kenya Medical Research Institute, P.O. Box 54628, Nairobi, Kenya.
Joseph
J
Muriuki
Center for Virus Research, Kenya Medical Research Institute, P.O. Box 54628, Nairobi, Kenya.
Rency
R
Lel
Center for Virus Research, Kenya Medical Research Institute, P.O. Box 54628, Nairobi, Kenya.
Sheila
S
Kageha
Center for Virus Research, Kenya Medical Research Institute, P.O. Box 54628, Nairobi, Kenya.
Saida
S
Osman
Department of Viral Infection and International Health, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan.
Hiroshi
H
Ichimura
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001782:Blood Donors; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology*; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D007630:Kenya / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D055815:Young Adult
D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies