Abstract
The genotype of hepatitis C virus (HCV) of 172 HCV-RNA positive serum specimens taken from patients with chronic liver diseases, thalassaemia major, chronic renal failure (CRF), haemophilia and intravenous drug abusers (IVDA) was determined by analysis of the amplified 5′UTR region by genotype-specific oligonucleotide probes and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). Six different genotypes and subtypes (1a, 1b, 2, 3, 4 and 6) were found. Genotype 1b was the predominant genotype among patients with chronic liver diseases (69.6%), followed by genotype 6 (18.8%), which was similar to that reported for blood donors in earlier studies. Pronounced differences in the distribution of genotypes were seen between the four risk groups. Patients with CRF had a similar distribution to those with chronic liver diseases, whilst the greatest diversity of genotypes was seen in patients with haemophilia, which was expected since they were given factor VIII manufactured overseas. Genotype 6 was particularly prominent in patients with thalassaemia major (50%) and IVDA (62.5%). It is possible that clonal spread of HCV genotype 6 has taken place among a closed subset of the population in Hong Kong through intravenous drug abuse.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Mattsson L, Sonnerborg A, Weiland O. Outcome of acute symptomatic non-A, non-B hepatitis: A 13-year follow-up study of hepatitis C virus markers. Liver 1993; 13: 274–278.
Takahashi M, Yamada G, Miyamoto, Doi T, Endo H, Tsuji T. Natural course of chronic hepatitis C. Am J Gastroenterol 1993; 88: 240–243.
Di Bisceglie AM, Goodman ZD, Ishak KG, Hoofnagle JH, Melpolder JJ, Alter HJ. Long-term clinical and histological follow-up of chronic posttransfusion hepatitis. Hepatology 1991; 14: 969–974.
Simmonds P, Holmes EC, Cha TA. Classification of hepatitis C virus into six genotypes and a series of subtypes by phylogenetic analysis of the NS-5 region. J Gen Virol 1993; 74: 2391–2399.
Lau JYN, Mizokami M, Kolberg JA, et al. Application of six hepatitis C virus genotyping systems to sera from chronic hepatitis C patients in the United States. J Infect Diseases 1995; 171: 281–289.
McOmish F, Yap PL, Dow BC, et al. Geographical distribution of hepatitis C virus genotypes in blood donors: An international collaborative survey. J Clin Microbiol 1994; 32: 884–892.
Davidson F, Simmonds P, Ferguson JC, et al. Survey of major genotypes using RFLP of sequences amplified from the 5′ non-coding region. J Gen Virol 1995; 76: 1197–1204.
Okamoto H, Sugiyama Y, Okada S. Typing hepatitis C virus by polymerase chain reaction with type-specific primers: Application to clinical surveys and tracing infectious sources. J Gen Virol 1992; 73: 673–679.
Chen CH, Sheu JC, Wang JT, et al. Genotypes of hepatitis C virus in chronic liver disease in Taiwan. J Med Virol 1994; 44: 234–236, 1994.
Zhang YY, Lok ASF, Chan DTM, Widell A. Greater diversity of hepatitis C virus genotypes found in Hong Kong than in mainland China. J Clin Microbiol 1995; 33: 2931–2934.
Wang Y, Okamoto H, Tsuda F, et al. Prevalence, genotypes, and an isolate (11C-C2) of hepatitis C virus in Chinese patients with liver disease. J Med Virol 1993; 40: 254–260.
Yoshioka K, Kakumu S, Wakita T, et al. Detection of hepatitis C virus by polymerase chain reaction and response to interferon therapy: Relationship to genotypes of hepatitis C virus. Hepatology 1992; 16: 293–299.
Mita E, Hayashi N, Hagiwara H, et al. Predicting interferon therapy efficiency from hepatitis C virus genotype and RNA titer. Digestive Diseases and Sciences 1994; 39: 977–982.
Bukh J, Miller RH. Diagnostic and clinical implications of the different genotypes of hepatitis C virus. Hepatology 1994; 20: 256–259.
Pozzato G, Kaneko S, Moretti M, et al. Different genotypes of hepatitis C virus are associated with different severity of chronic liver disease. J Med Virol 1994; 43: 291–296.
Imberti L, Cariani E, Bettinardi A, Zonaro A, Albertini A, Primi D. An immunoassay for specific amplified HCV sequences. J Virol Methods 1991; 34: 233–243.
Garson JA, Tedder RS, Briggs M. et al. Detection of hepatitis C viral sequences in blood donations by ‘nested’ polymerase chain reaction and predication of infectivity. Lancet 1990; 335: 1419–1422.
Simmonds P, McOmish F, Yap PL, et al. Sequence variability in the 5′ non coding region of hepatitis C virus; identification of a new type and restrictions on sequence diversity. J Gen Virol 1993; 74: 661–668.
Willems M, Sheng L, Roskams T, et al. Hepatitis C virus and genotypes in patients suffering from chronic hepatitis C with or without cryoglobulinemia-related syndrome. J Med Virol 1994; 44: 266–271.
Bhattacherjee V, Prescott LE, Pike I, et al. Use of NS-4 peptides to identify type-specific antibody to hepatitis C genotypes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. J Gen Virol 1995; 76: 1737–1748.
Doi H, Apichartpiyiyaki C, Ohba KI, et al. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) subtype prevalence in Chaing Mai. Thailand and identification of novel subtypes of HCV in major type 6. J Clin Microbiol 1996; 34: 569–574.
Tokita H, Okamoto H, Tsuda F, et al. Hepatitis C virus variants from Vietnam are classifiable into the seventh, eighth, and ninth major genetic groups. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 1994; 91: 11022–11026.
Tokita H, Okamoto H, Luengrojanakul P, et al. Hepatitis C virus variants from Thailand classifiable into five novel genotypes in the sixth (6b), seventh (7c, 7d) and ninth (9b, 9c) major genetic groups. J Gen Virol 1995; 76: 2329–2335.
Mellor J, Walsh EA, Prescott LE, et al. Survey of type 6 group variants of hepatitis C virus in Southeast Asia by using a core-based genotyping assay. J Clin Microbiol 1996; 34: 417–423.
Prescott LE, Simmonds P, Lai CL, et al. Detection and clinical features of hepatitis C virus type 6 infections in blood donors from Hong Kong. J Med Virol 1996; 50: 168–175.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wong, D.A., Tong, L.K. & Lim, W. High prevalence of hepatitis C virus genotype 6 among certain risk groups in Hong Kong. Eur J Epidemiol 14, 421–426 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007400304726
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007400304726