title: A Unique Pattern of HCV Genotype Distribution on Hainan Island in China Revealed by Evolutionary Analysis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Different genotypes of HCV may differ in both disease progression and response to antiviral therapies. Hainan Island has been inhabited by the "Li" aboriginal minority for centuries. We aimed to provide a better understanding of HCV infection on Hainan Island, so that the information would help improve strategies for HCV prevention and control on the island and in the wider country.
  
  
  METHODS
  Using RT-PCR and DNA sequencing, we determined HCV sequences from 100 patients living on Hainan Island.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Phylogenetic analysis classified these sequences into six subtypes: 6a (n=35), 1b (n=31), 3b (n=16), 2a (n=8), 3a (n=6), and 1a (n=4). By including reference sequences reported from elsewhere in China, phylogeographic trees were reconstructed to indicate their migration patterns. While the predominant 6a isolates were estimated to have origins in Guangdong and Guangxi provinces, the increase in 3b strains must have resulted from IDU network transmission from the southwest. A Bayesian Skyline Plot for subtype 1a, which is rare in China, showed a rapid population growth since 1998. Although slowed in rate around 2005, this growth continued to the present. Not found for any other HCV lineage.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Overall, a delayed growth pattern may indicate the unique history of 1a dissemination in China and its recently increasing prevalence, despite measures taken to improve HCV prevention.
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Lu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Xiong
authors.forename: Fuli
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Xiaozhen
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Jiao
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Chunhua
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Yuanping
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhou
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D044466:Asian People; D001499:Bayes Theorem; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency; D005838:Genotype; D005843:Geography; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000208:ethnology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000821:virology*; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D006801:Humans; D062312:Islands; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010802:Phylogeny; D011157:Population Dynamics; D015995:Prevalence; D013045:Species Specificity; D055815:Young Adult