HEPATITIS-C VIRUS-INFECTION AND GENOTYPES IN SOUTHERN ISRAEL AND THE GAZA-STRIP

The Gaza Strip borders the southern part of Israel and Egypt. There is a remarkable difference in the prevalence of antibodies to hepatitis C virus (HCV) between Israel (0.5%) and Egypt (10%). A few thousand in habitants cross the borders daily from the Gaza Strip to both countrie s. The objectives of this study were to investigate the prevalence of HCV infection in the Gaza Strip, an area that was not studied before, and to study HCV transmission in the Gaza Strip by characterizing the genotypes of HCV in Southern Israel and the Gaza Strip and comparing t hem with those found in Egypt. HCV prevalence in the Gaza Strip was fo und to be 2.2%, relatively higher than in Israel but lower than in Egy pt. The most common genotypes found were type Ib in Southern Israel an d type 4 in the Gaza Strip, corresponding to the most prevalent genoty pe in Egypt. Similarity between type 4 isolates from the Gaza Strip an d Egypt was illustrated further by sequence analysis of the HCV 5' non coding region (NCR). J. Mad. Virol. 56:230-233, 1998. (C) 1998 Wiley-L iss, Inc.