HEPATITIS C VIRUS GENOTYPES ARE CHANGING IN THE SOUTHEAST OF TURKEY

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a frequent cause of acute and chronic hepatitis, and may lead to the development of cirrhosis and subsequently hepatocellular carcinoma. It is estimated that about 150 to 200 million people have been in contact with HCV worldwide, and approximately 85% are chronically infected. HCV is a highly heterogenous virus. At least 6 genotypes and more than 50 subtypes marked with letters (e.g. 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b) of the virus, have been detected worldwide until now HCV genotype 1 was detected as the most common genotype in the studies also done in our country. The aim of this study is to determine the HCV genotypes and reveal the change in HCV genotypes in the South-Eastern region of Turkey. Between April 2007 and October 2008, the study evaluated serum samples of 74 patients (40 women) that were HCV RNA positive determined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). HCV genotypes were determined with Inno-LIPA method. 5'non-coding region (5'NCR) of HCV-RNA was amplified by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and genotyped by line probes in Inno-LIPA assay. The genotype results of HCV in the serum samples were as follows: 87.8% genotype 1b, 4.1% genotype 1, 2.7%genotype 2, 2.7% genotype 3 and 2.7% genotype 3a. Genotype I was determined predominantly in a total of 68 (91.9%) patients.