Hepatitis C virus genotypes in hemodialysis patients in Angola

• Published in: Journal of medical virology Vol. 91; no. 3; pp. 518 - 521
• Main Authors: da Costa Marques Borges, Luis Filipe, Zalis, Mariano Gustavo, Santoro‐Lopes, Guilherme, Varella, Rafael Brandão
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.03.2019
• Subjects: Africa; Angola; Angola - epidemiology; Cross-Sectional Studies; Dialysis; Epidemiology; Genotype; Genotypes; Genotyping; Hemodialysis; Hepacivirus; Hepatitis; Hepatitis Antibodies - blood; Hepatitis C; Hepatitis C - complications; Hepatitis C - epidemiology; Hepatitis C - virology; hepatitis C virus; Humans; Patients; Prevalence; Renal Dialysis; Seroepidemiologic Studies; Viremia; Viremia - epidemiology; Virology; Viruses; Angola; genotypes; hemodialysis; hepatitis C virus; epidemiology; Angola; Africa
• ISSN: 0146-6615; 1096-9071; 1096-9071
• DOI: 10.1002/jmv.25354

To our knowledge, there are no published data on hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotypes in Angola. This study aimed at assessing the distribution of HCV genotypes in seropositive hemodialysis patients in Luanda. Among 51 HCV‐positive subjects included, viremia was detected in 27 (53%). HCV genotyping was performed by bidirectional sequencing of the 5'‐untranslated region by the Sanger method. HCV genotype 4 was largely predominant (20 cases; 74%), followed by genotypes 1b (5 cases; 18.5%), 1a and 2 (one case each; 3.7%). These results suggest that the distribution of HCV genotypes in Angola is similar to that reported from other Central African countries. ‐HCV genotype 4 was largely predominant (74%) among hemodialysis (HD) patients in Angola; ‐The prevalence of HCV among HD patients observed in Angola (5.6%) is lower than in other African countries; ‐Larger studies investigating the epidemiology of HCV in the general population of Angola are necessary.