Hepatitis C virus genotypes in blood donors from the Federal District, Central Brazil

• Main Authors: Regina MS Amorim, Claudiner P Oliveira, Patrícia S Wyant, Daniela M Cerqueira, Geni NL Câmara, Luciano S Flores, Regina MB Martins, Cláudia RF Martins
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Ministério da Saúde 2004-12-01
• Series: Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz.
• Subjects: hepatitis C virus; genotypes; Federal District, Central Brazil
• Online Access: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0074-02762004000800019

The objective of this study was to characterize hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotypes in blood donors from the Federal District, Central Brazil, and to compare HCV screening by serological assays and reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Plasma samples from 57 individuals with reactive or indeterminate results in serological anti-HCV screening assays (ELISA or EIA) were tested for HCV RNA by RT-PCR. The results from a confirmatory LIA serological assay were also evaluated. The 5' non-coding region of the HCV genome was amplified from 41 PCR positive samples (71.9%), which were further characterized by nucleotide sequencing analysis. Of these, 60.9% were of HCV genotype 1 and 39.1% of genotype 3.