title: Distribution of Hepatitis C Virus Genotypes in Bahrain.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Approximately 170 million people are infected with Hepatitis C virus (HCV) worldwide, making it one of the world's major infectious diseases. There are no published population based studies about the prevalence of HCV genotypes in Bahrain.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the prevalence and distribution of HCV genotypes and subtypes among a large sample of patients with chronic HCV infection in Bahrain.
  
  
  METHODS
  Serum samples were collected from 202 HCV positive patients; of them 128 had a viral load (> 500 IU/mL) suitable for the type-specific genotyping assay. Gender-wise and age-wise differences in the distribution of HCV genotypes were determined by Chi Square and Fisher's Exact tests.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The predominant genotype among Bahraini patients was type 1 (36.71%), followed by genotypes 3 and 4 (15.6% each) and the lowest frequency was found for genotype 2 (3.9%). Among genotype 1, subtype 1b had the highest frequency (21.09%), followed by subtype 1a (14.06%). Among genotype 3, subtype 3a had the highest frequency (11.72%), while among genotype 4, most of subtypes were undetermined. The frequency of all different HCV genotypes was higher in male patients compared to female patients. Genotype 1 was most common in the age group of 51 - 60 years (38.3%), genotype 2 in 21 - 30 years (60%) and genotype 3 in 51 - 60 years (30%), while genotype 4 was most frequent among the age group > 61 (40%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The most common HCV genotype in Bahrain was subtype 1b followed by 1a and 3a. Further studies involving sources of transmission in Bahrain are required to enhance control measures for HCV infection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, College of Science, University of Bahrain, Sakhir, Bahrain.
authors.forename: Essam M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Janahi
authors.affiliation: Department of Mathematics, College of Science, University of Bahrain, Sakhir, Bahrain.
authors.forename: Mariam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Al-Mannai
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, College of Science, University of Bahrain, Sakhir, Bahrain.
authors.forename: Hemlata
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.affiliation: Salmaniya Medical Complex, Ministry of Health, Manama, Bahrain and Dasman Diabetes Institute, Kuwait City, Kuwait.
authors.forename: Mohamed M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Jahromi
keywords: Bahrain; Genotype; Hepatitis C Virus; Prevalence; Subtype