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. 2021 Jul 7;13(7):1316.
doi: 10.3390/v13071316.

Hepatitis C Virus Subtypes Novel 6g-Related Subtype and 6w Could Be Indigenous in Southern Taiwan with Characteristic Geographic Distribution

Hung-Da Tung  1 , Pei-Lun Lee  1 , Jyh-Jou Chen  1 , Hsing-Tao Kuo  2 , Ming-Jen Sheu  2 , Chun-Ta Cheng  1 , Tang-Wei Chuang  1 , Hsu-Ju Kao  1 , Yu-Hsun Wu  1 , Mai-Gio Pang  1 , Cheng-Heng Lin  1 , Chia-Yi Hou  3 , Hsin-Hua Tsai  4 , Li-Ching Wu  4   5 , Chuan Lee  6
Affiliations

Hepatitis C Virus Subtypes Novel 6g-Related Subtype and 6w Could Be Indigenous in Southern Taiwan with Characteristic Geographic Distribution

Hung-Da Tung et al. Viruses. .

Abstract

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype (GT) 6 is the most genetically diverse GT and mainly distributed in Southeast Asia and south China but not Taiwan. Earlier studies showed the major HCV GTs in Taiwan were GT 1b and 2 with very rare GT 6 except in injection drug users (IDUs), and subtype 6a is the main GT 6 subtype among IDUs. Recently, we reported a much higher prevalence (18.3%) of GT 6 in Tainan City, southern Taiwan. This study was designed to clarify the subtypes of GT 6 in this endemic area. A total of 3022 (1343 men and 1679 women) HCV viremic patients were enrolled. Subtypes of GT 6 were determined by sequencing of core/E1 and nonstructural protein 5B in 322 of 518 GT 6 patients. The overall GT 6 prevalence rate was 17.1% (518/3022), with higher prevalence districts (>25%) located in northern Tainan. A novel 6g-related subtype is the most prevalent subtype (81.0%), followed by 6w (10.8%), 6a (7.5%), and 6n (0.7%). The high GT 6 prevalence in Tainan was mainly due to a novel 6g-related subtype and 6w. These two subtypes could be indigenous in Tainan with characteristic geographic distribution.

Keywords: genotype; hepatitis C virus; injection drug user; phylogenetic analysis.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Prevalence rates of HCV GT 6 in each district of Tainan. (Blue lines: two main rivers, top: Jishui; middle: Zengwen; red hollow circle, triangle and square: locations of three campuses).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Percentages and numbers of major HCV GT 6 subtypes in Tainan.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Percentages of age distribution of HCV GT 6 subtypes. ID, indeterminate.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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