Hepatitis C Genotype Assay and Sequence Analysis at a University Hospital in Eastern Türkiye

Abstract

Aim: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a virus with many genotypes and subtypes that can cause cirrhosis, liver failure, and cancer worldwide. Countries must also identify their genotypes and subtypes to determine the treatment process for HCV infections. This study aimed to determine the HCV genotype among 71 patients who visited Kafkas University Hospital and tested positive for anti-HCV via macro-ELISA over three years. Material and Method: 71 samples collected from patients admitted to our hospital and identified as anti-HCV positive using the ELISA method were included in our study. The 5’untranslated region (5’UTR) region of HCV was amplified and sequenced by PCR. 5’-ctgtgaggaactactgtctt-3’ and 5’-atactcgaggtgcacggtctacgagacct- 3’ primers were used for 5’UTR region. Sequence reactions were conducted on an ABI Prism 3130xl DNA sequencer, and sequence analysis was performed. The resulting sequence was screened in HCV Databank to detect genotype. Results: The HCV genotype distribution of 56 samples was as follows: 27 (48%) patients were male and 29 (51%) were female. Genotype1a, 6 (8.5%); Genotype1b, 40 (71%); Genotype3a, 7 (12%); Genotype4, 3 (6%). According to our results, Type1b, the most common species in Türkiye, was also found to be the highest in our city. Conclusion: We hope this study provides the regional distribution of the procedures to be followed in the formation of treatments for HCV-positive patients in Türkiye since it is the first study to determine HCV genotype in our region.

Keywords

• HCV
• genotype
• subtypes
• sequence analysis; polymerase chain reaction

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