GENOTYPING OF HEPATITIS-C VIRUS BY THE POLYMERASE CHAIN-REACTION - A COMPARISON OF 2 PCR-BASED METHODS USING CORE OR NS5 PRIMERS

The presence of hepatitis C virus subtypes and their clinical importan ce, especially in the context of interferon sensitivity, are reported. In this study, we compared two kinds of polymerase chain reaction (PC R)-based methods - one step quick subtyping and two stage subtyping pr ocedure for the determination of genotypes. Using the mixed primer set s derived from the core or NS5 region, we amplified cDNA samples obtai ned from patients with a hepatitis C virus infection. Of 116 samples t ested, 91 (78%) showed identical genosubtypes between these two method s and 19 (16%) showed different ones, Although such discrepant results are considered to be related to the characteristics of these two meth ods, further studies remain to elucidated.