Genotypic Profile of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) in Patients Attending the Medical Outpatient Department in Bingham University Teaching Hospital Jos Nigeria for Chronic HCV Infection

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: HCV is recognized as the major cause of transfusion associated and sexually transmitted sporadic chronic non-A non-B hepatitis. There is a high degree of genetic variability from HCV genomes isolated from infected patients. Currently, HCV isolates are classified into at least six major genotypes and numerous sub- genotypes. The genetic diversity of HCV and the clinical and virological relevance of HCV genetic classification schemes remain important areas of active research. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to determine the genotypic profile of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in patients who are infected with chronic HCV with or without liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, receiving treatment at the medical outpatient department (MOPD) of the Bingham University Teaching Hospital Jos Nigeria with a view to seeing which of these genotypes is more prevalent. METHODS: This prospective cohort study enrolled patients who were clinically diagnosed to have chronic HCV infection and subsequently confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using the light cycler. Patients attending the clinic from December 2012 to December 2014 who had all the relevant investigations done were enrolled in the study. This was regardless of whether they were profiled for commencement of treatment or not due to disease stage. RESULTS: A total of 48 patients were enrolled for the study during the period. Out of this figure, genotype 1 patients accounted for 34 (70.8 %) to emerge the leading genotype in the centre. This was followed by genotype 4 with a very low value of 7(14.6 %) as the second while genotype 2 had 6 (12.5 %) and genotype 3 had only 1 (2.1 %) patient. CONCLUSION: The study has revealed that HCV genotype 1 is the most prevalent among the population