THE PREVALENCE OF HEPATITIS-C VIRUS TYPES IN PATIENTS OF THE SAME GEOGRAPHIC AREA, ACCORDING TO THE SOURCE OF INFECTION AND LIVER-DISEASE

Background: The duration and stage of hepatitis C might be associated with the source of infection and hepatitis C virus (HCV) types. Object ive: We studied the relationship among the different HCV types, source , duration, and stage of infection in 100 patients from the Apulia, so uthern Italy, selected from consecutive clinical records. They were 20 parenterally infected haemophiliacs with 10-20 years of disease histo ry, but without cirrhosis; 20 patients (matched for sex, age and disea se) and without known risk factor for parenteral infections; 60 patien ts with community acquired infection (ten with CAH and ten with cirrho sis with less than 20 years disease history; 20 with cirrhosis and hep atocellular carcinoma (HCC) and more than 20 years of liver disease an d 20 matched cases with cirrhosis without HCC). Results: Type 1 and 2 HCVs had comparable prevalence in patients with long lasting and recen t HCV infection, 56 and 64%, 26 and 30% respectively. HCV type 3 was f ound in 6.5-12% of the patients with recent HCV infection, but it was not detected in those with infection longer than 20 years. Type 1 b HC V was more frequently found in HCC patients (68% of cases) than in the other forms of liver disease. The opposite was observed for HCV types (2 and 3). Conclusions: The prevalence of the different HCV types app ears associated with the source and duration of the infection. The int eresting association between HCV type 1 b and HCC prompts further stud ies in larger series of patients. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.