Hepatitis C Virus genotypes detected in Erciyes University

Abstract

SUMMARY Hepatitis C virus is an important cause of chronic liver disease worldwide. There has been at least 6 genotypes of HCV and genotype 1b has been associated with more severe liver disease and poor response to therapy. The purpose of this study was to investigate the distribution of HCV genotypes among patients with chronic hepatitis C in Kayseri. Fifty seven patients with chronic hepatitis C were included in this study. HCV RNA viral load were determined by real time PCR method. HCV RNA positive sera were genotyped by restriction fragment length polymorphism method. Type 1b and type 1a were detected in 55 ( 96.5 %) of patients and 2 ( 3.5 %) of the patients respectively. HCV genotype 1b is the predominant genotype in patients with chronic hepatitis C in Kayseri. The results of our study contribute important information to the management and treatment of chronic hepatitis C in our region.