Hepatitis C virus genotypes in the Islamic Republic of Iran: a preliminary study

According to the divergent geographical distribution of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) and the fact that the virus possesses six major genotypes and more than 90 subtypes, we decided to determine the prevalence of the major HCV genotypes in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Serum samples from 21 HCV infected individuals were tested primarily by second generation of enzyme immunosorbent assay and the two-stage PCR method. For determining the five most common variants, second generation methods for genotype specification were used. The prevalence of specific genotypes in 15 samples is as follows: Type I/1a in seven cases, Type II/1b in three cases and Type V/3a in four patients. One sample disclosed Type 4.