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Distribution of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) Genotype among Iraqi Hemodialysis Patients
عمر فاروق عبد الرشيد
Authors : Dr. jawad kadhem manuti F.I.C.MS, Dr. Omar F. Abdul-Rasheed, PhD, Dr. Eman Sh. AL-Obeidy. Ph.D
Background:the infection is emerging mostly due to problem of intravenous drug abuse and needle-sharing in the country. On the other hand, an increase in number of centers providing hemodialysis and transfusion facilities for hemoglobinopathies generated new sources and susceptible populations in Iraq. This virus has been classified into multiple strains based on nucleotide sequence variability. It is thought that genetic heterogeneity of HCV may account for some of the differences in disease outcome and response to treatment observed in HCV-infected persons. Objectives: This study was established to assess the prevalence of HCV genotype among Iraqi hemodialysis patients Patients and methods:genotyping was attempted on 100 HCV-infected Iraqi patients from different centers in the country. These included 55 males and 45 females with mean age 55.2 years . Testing for anti-HCV was done using the available commercial kits of the third generation enzyme immunoassay (Foresight-USA ). According to the manufacture instructions, a sample was considered positive if the optical density value was equal to or greater than that of a strong positive reaction control multiply by 0.2 (cut-off). The positive samples were re-tested in duplicate. Positive sera were then subjected to a confirmatory test using a PCR technique ( Amplicor HCV test; Hoffman-La Roche, Nutly, NJ, USA). HCV genotyping was performed on PCR HCV RNA-positive samples using a commercial line probe assay (Abbott-USA) Results:. HCV genotype 4 is found to be the predominant genotype among HCV-infected Iraqi patients (56%) followed by 1b (23%) and 1a (12%) and genotype 3 (9%). Conclusions: The predominance of HCV genotype 4 infection in Iraqihemodialysis patients which similar to the Arab countries in the Middle East, this will affect the duration and response to treatment.

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January 2014