Risk Factors for Hepatitis C Virus Infection Among Koreans According to the Hepatitis C Virus Genotype

Abstract

To investigate risk factors for HCV infection according to the genotype, we studied 178 patients positive for HCV-PCR and 226 controls that were negative for the anti-HCV antibody. One hundred and twenty five controls (community control) were recruited from spouses of HCV-PCR-positive patients and the other 101 from hospital visitors (hospital control). HCV genotyping was performed by PCR, and epidemiological data were obtained from all participants. The distribution of HCV genotypes was as follows -- 1a (0.6%), 1b (39.9%), 2a (38.2%), 2b (0%), 3 (1.1%), and unclassified (20.2%). By multivariate analysis, blood transfusion (OR 2.90) and endoscopy (OR 2.80) were found to be risk factors for HCV genotype 1b versus the community control. Similarly, blood transfusion (OR 3.17) was found to be risk factors for HCV genotype 1b versus the hospital control. Blood transfusion (OR 2.75) and endoscopy (OR 3.57) were risk factors for HCV genotype 2a versus the community control, and blood transfusion (OR 4.55) and endoscopy (OR 2.16) were those versus the hospital control. Our results suggest that the risk factors for HCV infection are similar among the different genotypes. Blood transfusion and endoscopy were found to be associated with HCV infection.

Population Genotyping of Hepatitis C Virus by Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry Analysis of Short DNA Fragments

“…All of the samples were successfully genotyped by RFMP analysis, and the results agreed with clonal sequence analysis. Consistent with previous reports, genotypes 1b and 2a/c were the most prevalent, constituting 83% of the samples (27 ). Of interest, 22% of the samples were determined to be infected with mixed genotypes.…”

Epidemiology of Hepatitis C Virus in Korea

“…There have been few data on the distribution of HCV genotypes among the general population in Korea [14,15,17] . In a study on the distribution of HCV genotypes among 178 health examinees with anti-HCV and HCV RNA, 1b (39.9%) and 2a (38.2%) were the two most common types, followed by unclassifi ed types (20.2%) and genotype 3 (1.1%) [17] .…”

“…Data published in eight reports unanimously name blood transfusion as the strongest risk of transmission of HCV infection in Korea, with an odds ratio ranging from 1.1 to 25.0 ( table 3 ) [4][5][6][7][8][14][15][16][17] . The average odds ratio of blood transfusion estimated on the eight data sets is 2.64 (95% CI 1.99-3.50).…”

“…In a study on the distribution of HCV genotypes among 178 health examinees with anti-HCV and HCV RNA, 1b (39.9%) and 2a (38.2%) were the two most common types, followed by unclassifi ed types (20.2%) and genotype 3 (1.1%) [17] . In another study, 1b was the pre- vailing type (71%), followed by 2a (23.9%), 1a (2.1%), 2b (1.5%) and unclassifi ed types (1.5%) among 138 individuals with HCV RNA (30 blood donors, 33 patients with chronic hepatitis, 15 with liver cirrhosis, 30 with HCC and 30 on maintenance hemodialysis) [25] .…”

“…The history of injection drug use has not been ascertained in most epidemiologic studies on HCV infection in Korea. According to a study investigating risk factors for HCV infection with reference to HCV genotypes, only 5.0% of the 139 anti-HCVpositive subjects studied during 1994-1998 confi ded having been sharing needles [17] . Hence, needle sharing was not a signifi cant risk factor for HCV infection in Korea.…”