AbstractPDF
Abstract
Background: The prevalence of the genotypes of the
hepatitis C virus (HCV) differs according to geographical
location. In the United States and in European countries,
the majority of patients are infected with genotype 1, 2
or 3. There is a lack of data on the distribution of HCV
genotypes in the Netherlands.
Methods: The current survey determined the distribution of HCV genotypes amongst recently genotyped patients seen by physicians treating hepatitis C in the Netherlands.
Results: Almost half of the 351 patients (49.3%) were
infected with genotype 1. Genotype 3 was the second most dominant genotype with a prevalence of 29.3%. Genotypes 2 and 4 were found in 9.7 and 10.5% of the patients, respectively. For 61.5% of the patients (n=216), the subtype was available. For genotype 1 the prevalence of subtype 1a and 1b was very similar, while for genotype 3 a large majority of patients were infected with subtype 3a.
Conclusion: This survey gives the first estimation of the
distribution of HCV genotypes amongst unselected HCV
patients in the Netherlands.
