Distribution of hepatitis C virus genotypes, hepatic steatosis and their correlation with clinical and virological factors in Pakistan

Abstract

Background: Due to the inherently unstable nature of HCV, various genotypes have been identified. Steatosis is a histological feature in the progression of HCV-associated liver disease and has been shown to alter the host lipid metabolism. Objective: Assess the distribution of HCV genotypes in the two provinces of Pakistan, and determine the association of hepatic steatosis with altered clinical and virological factors in chronic HCV patients. Methods: One hundred twenty six chronic HCV patients (steatosis in 49 patients) were enrolled for qualitative analysis by PCR. Out of 126 ELISA and PCR positive samples, 119 (48 with hepatic steatosis) chronic HCV patients (mean age 42.0±13.3 years, mean body mass index (BMI) 24.2±4.1) were proved positive after PCR-based detection. Biochemical and virological factors such as HCV genotype, or glucose, in 119 CHC patients were determined and compared between patients with and without hepatic steatosis. Results: Out of 126 samples, 119 were HCV positive, where 58 (48.7%) were genotype 3a, 24 (20.2%) were 3b, 12 (10.1%) were 1a, eight (6.7%) were 2a, six (5.0%) were 1b, and one (0.8%) was 4. Furthermore, seven (5.9%) had a co-infection and three (2.5%) were untypable. BMI (p=0.004), genotype 3a (p<0.001), and triglycerides (p=0.002) were significantly associated with steatosis. It is noteworthy that cholesterol (p=0.281), glucose (p=0.305), lowdensity lipoprotein (p=0.101), high-density lipoprotein (p=0.129), alanine amino transferase (p=0.099), aspartate transaminase (p=0.177), bilirubin (p= 0.882), and age (p=0.846) showed non-significant association. Conclusion: Genotype 3a is the predominant genotype in Pakistan. Hepatic steatosis is quite frequent feature in HCV patients and strongly correlates with BMI, genotype 3a, and triglyceride contents in patients infected with HCV.

Molecular study of HCV detection, genotypes and their routes of transmission in North West Frontier Province, Pakistan

“…Hepatitis C virus (HCV) was acknowledged in 1989 by Choo et al [1] and classified into the family Flaviviridae [2] . It is a single stranded enveloped RNA virus of 9.6 kb genome with three structural and six nonstructural proteins.…”

“…HCV is classified into 11 major genotypes and more than 100 subtypes. Genotypes [1][2][3] have worldwide distribution. The rest of the genotypes show definite geographic site predilections.…”

HCV infection and frequency of distribution.

“…1 Among all seven genotypes, the genotype 1 is the major and very common genotype worldwide especially in the USA and Europe and it covers 46.2% of all HCV infected population of the world. 2 HCV genotype 3 is the main genotype found in HCV patients of Pakistan 3 and is covering 30% of world wide HCV infected population. 2,3 Genotype 3 is considered to be widely prevalent in Pakistan.…”

Sequence analysis of hepatitis C virus nonstructural protein 3‑4A serine protease and prediction of conserved B and T cell epitopes

“…Hepatitis C has six major genotypes, which demonstrate many variations in geographic distribution, response to therapy and disease progression (3). The most prevalent genotypes of HCV are 1, 2 and 3, which occur around the globe.…”

“…HCV genotype 4 is predominant in Africa and the Middle East, while in South Africa and Hong Kong genotypes 5 and 6, respectively are predominant (4). The most prevalent genotype in Pakistan is 3 (3).…”