HEPATITIS-C GENOTYPES IN FINLAND DETERMINED BY RFLP

Genotyping of hepatitis C virus (HCV) is important because of its clin ical and epidemiological implications. We report here the distribution of HCV genotypes in various patient groups in Finland using a rapid a nd reliable HCV typing method based on restriction fragment length pol ymorphism (RFLP) of the amplified DNA from the 5' non-coding region of the genome. The reaction product from the primary, diagnostic PCR (ne sted, one tube system) was used in genotyping. From 264 Finnish sera w e identified HCV genotypes la (14%), 1b (24%), 2b (20%), 3a (41%) and 1a + Ib (1%). Only one patient with genotype 2a was identified. From f our Egyptian blood donors, types Ib and 4 were found. Genotype 3a was more often associated with i.v. drug abuse and younger age profile (le ss than 30 years).