HEPATITIS-C VIRUS VARIANTS FROM THAILAND CLASSIFIABLE INTO 5 NOVEL GENOTYPES IN THE 6TH (6B), 7TH (7C, 7D) AND 9TH (9B, 9C) MAJOR GENETIC GROUPS

Nine (10%) out of 90 hepatitis C virus (HCV) isolates from hepatitis patients and commercial blood donors in Thailand were not classifiable into any of genotypes I/1a, II/1b, III/2a, IV/2b, V/3a or VI/3b by RT-PCR with type-specific primers deduced from the HCV core gene. These isolates were sequenced over a 1.6 kb stretch of the 5'-terminal sequence and 1.1 kb of the 3'-terminal sequence covering 30% of the entire genome. Based on two-by-two comparison and phylogenetic analyses of the nine Thailand isolates among themselves and with known full or partial sequences of previously reported HCV isolates, the Thailand isolates were classified into five genotypes not reported previously, viz. 6b, 7c, 7d, 9b and 9c. Along with HCV isolates reported already, they make at least nine major genetic groups of HCV which further break down into at least 28 genotypes with sequence similarity in the E1 gene (576 bp) of less than or equal to 80%. As many more HCV isolates of distinct genotypes are expected to be found throughout the world, it will become increasingly difficult to classify them by comparison of any partial sequences of the genome. Complete sequence data will be required for the full characterization and classification of HCV genotypes.