title: Assessment of HCV genotypes in Yunnan Province of Southwest China.
abstract: Recently, we reported that the frequency of hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotypes and subtypes has rapidly changed among intravenous drug users (IDUs) in Yunnan Province over the last 5 years; this is especially true for subtype 6a which has increased in frequency from 5 to 15%. Here, we assessed 120 HCV-positive plasma samples from the general population (GP). HCV NS5B fragments were amplified and sequenced by PCR. We identified four HCV genotypes (1, 2, 3 and 6) and seven HCV subtypes (1b, 2a, 3a, 3b, 6a, 6n, and 6k) in this population. Genotype 3 was predominant, with a distribution frequency of 0.484, followed by genotype 1 (0.283), genotype 6 (0.133) and genotype 2 (0.100). HCV subtypes 3b (frequency 0.292) and 1b (frequency 0.283) were the most common subtypes. A comparison of the current data with previous results reported for IDUs showed that the distribution frequencies of genotypes 1, 2 and 6 were significantly different between patients in the GP and IDUs (P < 0.05). Among the HCV subtypes, the distribution frequencies of 1b, 2a, 6a, and 6n were significantly different between patients in the GP and IDU groups (P < 0.05). Moreover, Phylogenetic analyses showed that HCV subtype 6a strains isolated from IDUs and the GP were intermixed and not separately clustered. HCV subtype 6a was predominant not only among IDUs but also among those in the GP in the Guangdong Province and Vietnam. However, HCV subtype 6a was predominant only among IDUs and not among those in the GP in the Yunnan and Guangxi Provinces. Our results indicate that the HCV subtype 6a could rapidly spread across China.
authors.affiliation: Division for Expanded Program of Immunization of Yunnan, Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Kunming, 650011, China.
authors.forename: Qiongfen
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Biology, Yunnan Key Laboratory of Vaccine Research & Development on Severe Infectious Disease, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Kunming, 650118, China.
authors.forename: Yufeng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.affiliation: The First People's Hospital in Yunnan Province & The Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Science and Technology University, Kunming, 650032, China.
authors.forename: Yunsong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Biology, Yunnan Key Laboratory of Vaccine Research & Development on Severe Infectious Disease, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Kunming, 650118, China.
authors.forename: Danfeng
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.affiliation: The First People's Hospital in Yunnan Province & The Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Science and Technology University, Kunming, 650032, China.
authors.forename: Yalin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: The Third People's Hospital of Kunming, Kunming, 650041, China.
authors.forename: Shuqiong
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Biology, Yunnan Key Laboratory of Vaccine Research & Development on Severe Infectious Disease, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Kunming, 650118, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Cun
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Biology, Yunnan Key Laboratory of Vaccine Research & Development on Severe Infectious Disease, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Kunming, 650118, China.
authors.forename: Mingbo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Biology, Yunnan Key Laboratory of Vaccine Research & Development on Severe Infectious Disease, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Kunming, 650118, China.
authors.forename: Jiankun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Biology, Yunnan Key Laboratory of Vaccine Research & Development on Severe Infectious Disease, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Kunming, 650118, China. shili.imb@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Biology, Yunnan Key Laboratory of Vaccine Research & Development on Severe Infectious Disease, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Kunming, 650118, China. shaozhongdong@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Shaozhong
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dong
mesh_terms: D002681:China; D005260:Female; D005828:Genetics, Population; D005838:Genotype; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000235:genetics* / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010802:Phylogeny; D014744:Vietnam; D017361:Viral Nonstructural Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D012324:RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase
chemical_list: D017361:Viral Nonstructural Proteins; C087036:NS-5 protein, hepatitis C virus; D012324:RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase
keywords: General population; HCV; Intravenous drug users; Subtype 6a; Yunnan Province