Hepatitis C virus The hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a small (55–65 nm in size), enveloped, positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus of the family ''Flaviviridae''. The hepatitis C virus is the cause of hepatitis C and some cancers such as liver cancer ( hepato ...

(HCV) genotypes refer to the genetic variations that occurs in the

hepatitis C virus The hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a small (55–65 nm in size), enveloped, positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus of the family ''Flaviviridae''. The hepatitis C virus is the cause of hepatitis C and some cancers such as liver cancer ( hepato ...

Hepatitis C Hepatitis C is an infectious disease caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV) that primarily affects the liver; it is a type of viral hepatitis. During the initial infection people often have mild or no symptoms. Occasionally a fever, dark urine, a ...

is a contagious disease that primarily affects the liver, causing severe damage as the disease progresses. It is caused by the

, a small, enveloped RNA virus. The transmission of hepatitis C is through the contact with the blood of the infected person, for example by sharing the needles or by using non-sterile medical equipment. HCV is transmitted globally because of the high infection rate and is also associated with a high

mortality rate Mortality rate, or death rate, is a measure of the number of deaths (in general, or due to a specific cause) in a particular population, scaled to the size of that population, per unit of time. Mortality rate is typically expressed in units of de ...

. The World Health Organization indicates the 3.3% of the

world population In demographics, the world population is the total number of humans currently living. It was estimated by the United Nations to have exceeded 8 billion in November 2022. It took over 200,000 years of human prehistory and history for the ...

is infected by the HCV virus. Statistical records show that there are about 13 million HCV affected persons in Сhina, 3.5 million affected persons in the United States, and about 10 million people are affected by HCV in Pakistan. In all cases, the viral genotype of the HCV stays the same, occasionally mutations do occur making the treatment more complex by targeting the changes in the genotype. Hepatitis C virus genotype is considered more common than the Hepatitis B virus infection contributing to more than a million cases annually and is considered one of the major reason for liver transplantation in United States. Some of the HCV genotypes may develop in people without symptoms leading to dangerous conditions like liver cirrhosis causing a permanent damage to liver and the unnoticed HCV conditions will affect brain, joints, blood vessels, bones, and kidneys. The complexity of the HCV genotypes made the treatment specific for the associated genotype. The treatment for the HCV genotype also depends on the presence or absence of

cirrhosis Cirrhosis, also known as liver cirrhosis or hepatic cirrhosis, and end-stage liver disease, is the impaired liver function caused by the formation of scar tissue known as fibrosis due to damage caused by liver disease. Damage causes tissue repai ...

. There are six major genotypes of hepatitis C virus which includes many subtypes. The genotype can affect treatment of HCV infections. Recent studies show that HCV genotypes consist of 8 genotypes and 67 subtypes. All the genotypes and subtypes affect the liver to the same extent of damage irrespective of the HCV genotypeTreatment action group website. Available at http://www.treatmentactiongroup.org/hcv/factsheets/hcv-genotypes Among the common six genotypes, genotype 1 is the most prevalent form in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

of America,http://hepatitis-c.emedtv.com/hepatitis-c/hepatitis-c-genotypes.html covering around 70-90% of total infections. It is usually difficult to treat the people with HCV genotype 1. Genotype 2 and genotype 3 are less common contributing to around 10-20%. Genotypes 4 and 5 affect a large proportion of the population in undeveloped countries. Genotype 4 is the most common type of infections in

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

and

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, around 80% of total infections. About 15% of the people affected by HCV genotypes will get cured without medications, in which immune system plays a vital role in defeating the virus. Until recently, there were no specific vaccines available for treating hepatitis C virus genotypes. __TOC__

Geographical distribution

People traveling around different subcontinents where several HCV genotypes are common will have the possibility of resulting in mixed infection.

Techniques

The Main techniques used to diagnose the HCV genotype are as follows: * HCV

ELISA The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) (, ) is a commonly used analytical biochemistry assay, first described by Eva Engvall and Peter Perlmann in 1971. The assay uses a solid-phase type of enzyme immunoassay (EIA) to detect the presence ...

(Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) * Quantitative HCV-RNA PCR (Hepatitis C virus-Ribonucleic acid Polymerase Chain reaction) * Recombinant immunoblot assay

References

{{reflist, 32em Hepatitis C