C. Apichartpiyakul et al., FREQUENT DETECTION OF HEPATITIS-C VIRUS SUBTYPE 3A (HCV-3A) ISOLATES IN THAILAND BY PCR USING SUBTYPE-SPECIFIC PRIMERS, Microbiology and immunology, 39(4), 1995, pp. 285-289
By means of a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method using subtype-spe
cific primers for hepatitis C virus (HCV) subtypes 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b and
3a, the prevalence of each subtype among HCV isolates in Chiang Mai, T
hailand, was determined. HCV-3a appeared to be the most common subtype
in blood donors, and was also frequently found in patients with liver
disease. HCV-1b, but not HCV-2a or -2b, was also commonly found in th
is area, while a considerable percentage of the total HCV isolates sti
ll remained unclassifiable by the above methods. Serotype analysis of
the HCV isolates using C14-1 and C14-2 recombinant peptides revealed t
hat HCV-3a was likely to carry an antigenic determinant(s) different f
rom those of the major types 1 (HCV-1a and -1b) and 2 (HCV-2a and -2b)
.