BACKGROUND Prevalence of hepatitis C virus and that of its main genotypes varies between the worlds geographic regions. The risk factors for infection with HCV include blood transfusion, tattoing and injecting drug use. OBJECTIVES To examine the prevalence of HCV and determine its main genotypes among a cohort of drug users in Kenya. DESIGN A laboratory based study. SETTING Hepatitis rese...

OBJECTIVE There is a large number of immigrant workers from Cambodia and Myanmar in Thailand. The aim of our study was to determine seroprevalence and genotypes of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in this group. METHODS Immigrants aged between 15 and 60 years (1,431 Cambodians and 1,594 Myanmarese) were recruited into this study. Each sample was screened for anti-HCV by ELISA. RNA was extracted from s...

BACKGROUND Many studies have been published on the association between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) near the IL28B gene and response to the combined treatments of pegylated-interferon (PegIFN) and ribavirin (RBV) in chronic HCV-infected patients, but without identical conclusions. The aim of this study was to assess impact of the IL28B polymorphisms on the effect of HCV standard treatm...

We evaluated a quantitative enzyme immunoassay (trak-C) for hepatitis C virus core antigen (HCV core Ag) by testing serum specimens from 820 injection drug users in Thailand with anti-HCV antibodies. The HCV genotypes in this population include genotypes 3 and 6, which have not been extensively tested with this assay. Among these specimens, 629 (76.7%) yielded positive results, with HCV core Ag...

OBJECTIVE To assess any time-related variations in the distribution of hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotypes in the metropolitan area of Naples, Italy. METHODS HCV genotypes were analysed in 255 HCV RNA-positive patients with chronic HCV infection, observed from 2009 to 2011, and compared with data pertaining to a sample of 176 HCV RNA-positive patients observed from 2006 to 2008. RESULTS In bo...

We previously showed that two proteins with molecular weights of 56 and 58 kDa are produced from nonstructural protein 5A (NS5A) derived from hepatitis C virus (HCV)-1b genotype. The 56-kDa protein is phosphorylated at serine residues in NS5A, including those located in the C-terminal region of NS5A, while the 58-kDa protein, the hyperphosphorylated form of the 56-kDa protein, is phosphorylated...

BACKGROUND IL28B polymorphism is recognized as one of the most prominent predictors of hepatitis C spontaneous and treatment-induced clearance. Interestingly, the favorable genotypes of IL28B are found to be more frequent in Asian ethnicity than Caucasian and African populations, respectively. A few studies reported that there is a mysterious association between the IL28B polymorphism and the h...

background hepatitis c virus (hcv) infection still exists as a health concern among the transplant patients. because of the severity of the disease, different responses to treatment, and side effects resulting from long therapeutic period, determination of genotypes and viral loads can help choose the best treatment protocols. objectives this study aimed to determine the hcv genotypes and its d...

OBJECTIVES To check TaqMan Realtime PCR in detecting genotypes of hepatitis C virus in Iran. METHODS From July 2007 to April 2009, HCV genotyping was done on 52 patients who were referred to Research Centre for infectious Disease and Tropical Medicine, in Bou-Ali Hospital, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences. All these patients had proven hepatitis C infection. RESULTS Out of 52 anti HCV...