Project description:We studied 47 hepatitis E virus (HEV) isolates from hospitalized patients in Nanjing and Taizhou, eastern China. Genotypes 1, 3, and 4 were prevalent; genotype 3 and subgenotype 4b showed a close relationship with the swine strains in eastern China, thus indicating that HEV genotype 3 had infected humans in China.
Project description:During 2001-2011, hepatitis E virus (HEV) was found in the blood of patients in Nanjing, China. All HEV-positive patients had virus genotype 4; subgenotype 4a was predominant. The effective population of HEV in Nanjing increased in ≈1980 and continued until ≈2003 when it plateaued.
Project description:BackgroundCo-infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) has become the most common cause of death in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected patients on antiretroviral therapy. The distribution of HCV genotypes varies with geographical regions and time, and limited studies have focused on the HCV genotype in HIV/HCV co-infection.MethodsThe distribution of HCV genotypes was evaluated in 414 patients with HIV/HCV co-infection in three regions (South, Central and Northwest) of China from 2008 to 2010. The NS5B region of HCV was characterized using nested reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Nucleotide sequences obtained were subjected to phylogenetic analysis, and genotypes were assigned using published reference genotypes.ResultsGenotype 3 was the most prevalent HCV strain (36.2%), followed by genotype 6 (30.0%), genotype 1 (28.5%), genotype 2 (5.1%), and genotype 5 (0.2%). The distribution varied geographically. Genotype 6 (37.6%) was the predominant strain while genotype 1 (20.2%) was less common in the South compared to the Central and Northwest regions (all P < 0.001). The distribution also varied temporally. There was no significant difference in genotype distribution in Guangdong (a province in the South region), between patient cohorts from 2005-2008 and 2009-2010. However, outside Guangdong, genotypes 3 and 6a became significantly more prevalent (22.4% vs.42.2%, P< 0.001; 8.0% vs. 19.8%, P = 0.004), and genotype 1 less prevalent (54.4% vs.26.6%, P< 0.001) over time.ConclusionThe most dramatic shift in genotypic distribution was the movement of HCV genotypes 3 and 6a outside of Guangdong in HIV/HCV co-infected patients. This movement appeared closely associated with transmission via injected drug use.
Project description:Hepatitis E virus (HEV) genotype 4 (HEV-4) is an emerging cause of acute hepatitis in China. Less is known about the clinical characteristics and natural history of HEV-4 than HEV genotype 3 infections in immunocompromised patients. We report transmission of HEV-4 from a deceased organ donor to 5 transplant recipients. The donor had been viremic but HEV IgM and IgG seronegative, and liver function test results were within reference ranges. After a mean of 52 days after transplantation, hepatitis developed in all 5 recipients; in the liver graft recipient, disease was severe and with progressive portal hypertension. Despite reduced immunosuppression, all HEV-4 infections progressed to persistent hepatitis. Four patients received ribavirin and showed evidence of response after 2 months. This study highlights the role of organ donation in HEV transmission, provides additional data on the natural history of HEV-4 infection, and points out differences between genotype 3 and 4 infections in immunocompromised patients.
Project description:AbstractIntroduction: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a major public health issue. HCV genotype identification is clinically important to tailor the dosage and duration of treatment, and recombination in intra-patient populations of HCV may lead to the generation of escape mutants, as previously observed for other RNA viruses. Up to now, there is no study assessing HCV genotypes and subtypes in Heilongjiang Province, China.Methods: To determine genotype and phylogenetic analysis of HCV in Heilongjiang Province is crucial. In this study, we amplified 3 genome regions (5'UTR, E1, and NS5B) of 30 HCV patients in Heilongjiang Province, amplified products were analyzed by bioinformatics.Results: We found that 23 specimens had concordant subtypes in the 3 gene regions (2a and 1b), 7 HCV patients were considered the recombinants, the recombination pattern of the 7 HCV patients in the 5'UTR, E1, and NS5B region as followed: 1b/2a/1b, 2a/2a/1b, 1b/2a/2a, 1b/2a/1b, 1b/2a/1b, 1b/2a/1b, 2a/2a/1b.Conclusions: The findings in the present study showed that a higher recombination rate (23%) than other researches, and the recombination of 2a/1b in the 5'UTR, E1, and NS5B region was only found in the present study up to now.
Project description:BackgroundLittle is known about the molecular epidemiology of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in Central China.Methodology/principal findingsA total of 570 patients from Hubei Province in central China were enrolled. These patients were tested positive for HCV antibody prior to blood transfusion. Among them, 177 were characterized by partial NS5B and/or Core-E1 sequences and classified into five subtypes: 1b, 83.0% (147/177); 2a, 13.0% (23/177); 3b, 2.3% (4/177); 6a, 1.1% (2/177); 3a, 0.6% (1/177). Analysis of genotype-associated risk factors revealed that paid blood donation and transfusion before 1997 were strongly associated with subtypes 1b and 2a, while some subtype 2a cases were also found in individuals with high risk sexual behaviors; subtypes 3b, 6a, and 3a were detected only in intravenous drug users. Phylogeographic analyses based on the coalescent datasets demonstrated that 1b, 2a, 3b, and 6a were locally epidemic in Hubei Province. Among them, subtype 1b Hubei strains may have served as the origins of this subtype in China, and 2a and 3b Hubei strains may have descended from the northwest and southwest of China, respectively, while 6a Hubei strains may have been imported from the central south and southwest.Conclusion/significanceThe results suggest that the migration patterns of HCV in Hubei are complex and variable among different subtypes. Implementation of mandatory HCV screening before donation has significantly decreased the incidence of transfusion-associated HCV infection since 1997. More attention should be paid to intravenous drug use and unsafe sexual contact, which may have become new risk factors for HCV infection in Hubei Province.