Screening of hepatitis C virus genotypes in urticaria patients in Saudi Arabia

The main objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and to determine the HCV genotypes in urticaria patients of Saudi Arabia.

After thorough clinical examination by a consultant dermatologist, urticaria patients and individual healthy controls were enrolled. Venous blood collected from subjects was analyzed for LFT (aspartate transaminase [AST], alanine transaminase [ALT], albumin, and bilirubin), hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), and HCV antibodies--HCV-RNA-PCR screening and genotyping.

Upon enzyme immunoassay (EIA) screening for HCV infection, 5/70 (7.1%) urticaria patients and none among the controls tested positive for the presence of anti-HCV antibodies (p=0.005). Genotyping analysis revealed that HCV belongs to types 3 and 4 with subtypes 3a, 4a, and 4c. No significant variations were seen in the mean serum levels of ALT, AST, albumin, and bilirubin between the patients based on their HCV sero-positivity status.

This prospective study indicated that HCV infection plays a significant role in urticaria. However, larger studies in different ethnicities could ascertain the association between different HCV genetic variants and the urticaria.