Prevalence of HCV genotype among patients with chronic liver diseases in the Tokyo metropolitan area

Abstract

We examined 613 Toranomon Hospital patients with HCV RNA-positive chronic liver disease to elucidate the viral genotype in the Tokyo metropolitan area. An epidemiological and clinical study was conducted in the 565 patients whose HCV genotype could be determined. The HCV genotypes found were type II, in 414 patients (67.5%); type III, in 103 (16.8%); type IV, in 37 (6.0%); type V, in 4 (0.7%); mixed genotype II and III, in 5 (0.8%); and mixed genotype II and IV, in 2 (0.3%). The HCV genotype could not be determined in 48 patients. Type II was most prevalent. The HCV genotype I was not found at all. There were no significant differences between genotypes in relation to sex, age, history of blood transfusion, or the progression of the disease. It was uncommon to find a history of blood transfusion in the patients with mixed genotypes; however, a high incidence of hepatic disorders was noted among the family members of these patients. Ninety-two percent of the patients with HCV genotype II tested positive for C100-3, while 70.9% of those with type III, and 43.2% of those with type IV tested positive for this antibody. HCV genotype II was most prevalent, and the positivity rate for anti C100-3 in patients with this HCV genotype was significantly higher (P < 0.00001) than that in patients with the other genotypes.

Clinical course and risk factors of hepatitis C virus related liver disease in the general population: report from the Dionysos study

“…They also indicate that the risk of progression to cirrhosis depends primarily on HCV infection, mainly type 1b infection, rather than the age of the patient at the time of infection. Our findings are in conflict with those of other studies, which showed no impact of HCV genotype on the severity of chronic liver disease,14 15but are in line with other reports,10 11 41 including a recent one from the same geographic area,16 which showed a high prevalence of genotype 1b infection in patients with cirrhosis and/or HCC. This is probably due to the fact that important cofactors in the progression of chronic liver disease, such as excessive alcohol intake, have not been taken into account by other authors.…”

“…Among patients infected with HCV, genotype distribution shows wide geographic differences. The prevalence of genotype 1b is high in Japan (78%),4 41 intermediate in Italy (68%),11 42 and low in the United States (21%) 17. The risk factors for transmission of HCV were similar to those reported by others,43-45 with the exception of animal bites (mainly dog bites) which has not been reported before.…”

Genotyping of hepatitis C virus isolates from Basque Country, Spain

“…Overall, the distribution of HCV genotypes found in our study shows a predominance of genotypes lb, 3a and la, which were responsible for 90-7 % of HCV infections. The genotype most frequently detected was lb, which is the genotype most widely extended worldwide and has a high incidence in Europe, Asia and America [6,7,9,12,[19][20][21]. Genotype 3a was the second most frequent and was observed mainly in IVDUs, among whom it was found in 64 %.…”

“…Genotype 3a also has been associated with intravenous drug use in other western countries: 63 % of the isolates of HCV obtained from France by Pawlotsky and colleagues were genotype 3a [7] compared with 44 % and 21 % in recent studies in IVDUs of Germany [22] and Italy [23], respectively. Genotype 3a has been detected for the first time in Thailand [14], where it is predominant [6,12,25], but it seems to be exceptional in other Asian countries, such as Japan or China [19,20]. It infection.…”

Prolonged Negative HCV-RNA Status Led to a Good Outcome in Chronic Hepatitis C Patients with Genotype 1b and Super-High Viral Load

“…In Japan, the patients with genotype 1 and high viral load is most prevalent [26] . The oral administration of ribavirin has been permitted for only 24 weeks by medical insurance until December 2004 [27] .…”