Hepatitis C seropositivity and distribution of HCV genotypes

Abstract

AimHepatitis C virus (HCV) is an important public health problem. Chronic hepatitis C can lead to severe liver damage (cirrhosis), liver cancer and liver failure. Our study aimed to detect HCV seropositivity in patients presenting to Umraniye Training and Research Hospital by investigating their anti-HCV test results retrospectively and to determine the distribution of genotypes in those patients for which HCV genotyping was performed.MethodBlood specimens of patients presenting to our hospital between January 2012 and September 2013 and blood specimens sent from various clinics were studied by using chemiluminescent immunoassay (Advia Cen-taur CP device) and micro-ELISA (Triturus Grifols) methods. Blood specimens determined to be positive were sent for HCV RNA and genotyping by a clini-cian who used AMPLICOR® and COBAS® AMPLICOR HCV tests. Data were retrospectively analyzed. Repeat specimens were excluded from the analysis.ResultsThree hundred and forty-eight (0.52%) of 66,030 blood specimens studied were determined to be positive. Eighty four (24.1%) of the patients determined to be positive were foreign nationals. Thirty-eight (84.4%), 2 (4.4%), and 5 (11.1%) of 45 blood specimens where genotyping was per-formed were determined to be Genotype 1, Genotype 2, and Genotype 3, respectively. One of the patients determined to be Genotype 3 was a foreign national.ConclusionThe prevalence of HCV infection is approximately 2.2-3.0% worldwide and the frequency of HCV infection in Turkey varies between 1.0% and 2.4%. In our region, the frequency of HCV infection was determined in our study to be 0.52%, lower than the overall frequency of Turkey. While the most commonly determined genotype is Genotype 1 in our country, an in-crease is expected in the other genotypes due to people coming from abroad, including immigrants.

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