GENOTYPES OF HEPATITIS-C VIRUS IN ITALIAN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC HEPATITIS-C

To assess the prevalence of different hepatitis C virus genotypes in an European population of patients with chronic hepatitis C, 79 consecutive Italian patients were studied. After having cloned and sequenced part of the 5' untranslated region of the virus in 21 patients, oligonucleotide probes were synthesized to be used in a more rapid dot-blot hybridization test. Using this method, 42% of patients were found infected by HCV type 1, 45% by HCV type 2 and 4% by HCV type 3, while seven patients remained unclassified. Patients infected by HCV type 3 were significantly younger and had a milder form of liver disease, compared to those infected by HCV type 1 or HCV type 2. Patients with HCV type 2 or HCV type 3 responded to interferon therapy much better than those with HCV type 1. These results provide information on the prevalence of different HCV genotypes in our region, and indicate the usefulness of the dot-blot hybridization procedure for rapid screening of HCV genotypes.