title: Virological characteristics of HCV infection in Japanese haemophiliacs.
abstract: It has been found that almost all haemophiliacs treated with pooled concentrates of clotting factor VIII or IX before 1985/6 have been infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV). In order to clarify the characteristics of HCV infection in Japanese haemophiliacs, we investigated the HCV genotype and HCV-RNA level in 80 patients with haemophilia who had been confirmed to be positive by a second-generation HCV antibody test. HCV-RNA was detected in 60 (75.0%) individuals and various HCV genotypes were found. Although 80% (48/60) of the patients had genotype 1b, the frequency of each genotype was quite different from that in HCV-infected non haemophiliac Japanese. Particularly, multiple HCV genotypes were observed in 27 (46.7%) patients. The mean (± SD) level of HCV-RNA was 5.3 × 10(5)  ±  1.1 × 10(6) copies mL(-1) . The viral load in patients with genotype 2a was significantly less common than those with genotype 1a (P= 0.0007), genotype 1b (P= 0.0009) and combined genotype 1a/1b (P= 0.0019). In patients co-infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the HCV-RNA level was significantly higher (P= 0.05) than in those without co-infection. However, there was no significant difference (P= 0.25) in the HCV-RNA level with HCV/HIV co-infection among the 40 patients with group 1 genotypes. We conclude that this biased distribution of HCV genotypes in Japanese haemophiliacs reflects their specific mode of HCV infection. Moreover, these results suggest that super-infection with HIV does not greatly influence the HCV load in patients with no marked immunological deterioration.
authors.affiliation: Division of Research Laboratory, St. Marianna University Yokohama-shi Seibu Hospital, Yokohama, Japan,Department of Pediatrics, St. Marianna University School of Medicine, Kawasaki, Japan,Division of Transfusion, Faculty of Medicine, Tottori University, Yonago, Japan,Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Tottori University, Yonago, Japan.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Takayama
authors.affiliation: Division of Research Laboratory, St. Marianna University Yokohama-shi Seibu Hospital, Yokohama, Japan,Department of Pediatrics, St. Marianna University School of Medicine, Kawasaki, Japan,Division of Transfusion, Faculty of Medicine, Tottori University, Yonago, Japan,Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Tottori University, Yonago, Japan.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Taki
authors.affiliation: Division of Research Laboratory, St. Marianna University Yokohama-shi Seibu Hospital, Yokohama, Japan,Department of Pediatrics, St. Marianna University School of Medicine, Kawasaki, Japan,Division of Transfusion, Faculty of Medicine, Tottori University, Yonago, Japan,Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Tottori University, Yonago, Japan.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Meguro
authors.affiliation: Division of Research Laboratory, St. Marianna University Yokohama-shi Seibu Hospital, Yokohama, Japan,Department of Pediatrics, St. Marianna University School of Medicine, Kawasaki, Japan,Division of Transfusion, Faculty of Medicine, Tottori University, Yonago, Japan,Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Tottori University, Yonago, Japan.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nishikawa
authors.affiliation: Division of Research Laboratory, St. Marianna University Yokohama-shi Seibu Hospital, Yokohama, Japan,Department of Pediatrics, St. Marianna University School of Medicine, Kawasaki, Japan,Division of Transfusion, Faculty of Medicine, Tottori University, Yonago, Japan,Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Tottori University, Yonago, Japan.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shiraki
authors.affiliation: Division of Research Laboratory, St. Marianna University Yokohama-shi Seibu Hospital, Yokohama, Japan,Department of Pediatrics, St. Marianna University School of Medicine, Kawasaki, Japan,Division of Transfusion, Faculty of Medicine, Tottori University, Yonago, Japan,Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Tottori University, Yonago, Japan.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yamada
keywords: HCV genotype; HCV-RNA level; hepatitis C virus (HCV); human immunodeficiency virus (HIV); multiple HCV genotypes.