Np. Sithebe et al., MOLECULAR EPIDEMIOLOGY OF HEPATITIS-C VIRUS-INFECTION AT GA-RANKUWA HOSPITAL, South African medical journal, 86(12), 1996, pp. 1543-1545
Different hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotypes may be associated with vir
al toad, severity of liver disease, hepatocellular carcinoma, geograph
ical location and sensitivity to interferon. In this study the prevale
nce of HCV-RNA and distribution of HCV genotypes was investigated in a
nti-HCV-positive patients admitted to Ga-Rankuwa Hospital during 1994
and 1995. One hundred and forty-nine sera from three groups of anti-HC
V-positive patients (N = 78) were analysed. These included: (i) patien
ts with Various liver diseases; (ii) patients admitted to the renal un
it; and (iii) a miscellaneous group of patients for whom HCV antibody
screening was requested. Twenty-six patients (33%) tested positive for
viral RNA. Restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis o
f these patients showed that HCV genotypes 1, 2 and 5 were present. Ty
pe 2 (35%) was the dominant genotype in the region served by Ga-Rankuw
a Hospital. In a large proportion of viral RNA-positive patients (21%)
, the polymerase chain reaction product could not be digested with one
of the sets of enzymes, and therefore could not be classified into ge
notypes 1 to 6. Further studies are now in progress to enhance our cur
rent knowledge of the epidemiology of HCV infection.