Seroprevalence of hepatitis c virus (hcv) infection and hcv genotypes in a tertiary care hospital

Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections account for a substantial proportion of liver diseases worldwide. It is the leading cause of chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Now, HCV poses a major health problem in Punjab, India too.
Aim: The aim of the study was to genotype prevalent in malwa region of Punjab in cirrhotic patients.
Material & Methods: This study was conducted from June 2016- March 2018 during which blood samples were collected from patients Indoor and outdoor patients attending Tertiary care Hospital Patiala. Five ml venous blood sample was collected and processed in VRDL, Department of Microbiology. HCV was detected by using HCV Tridot - rapid visual test (J. Mitra & Co. Ltd.) and ELISA (3rd generation ERBA kits). Quantitative HCV RNA was performed as baseline in all persons who came positive for anti-HCV by ELISA followed by HCV genotyping in hepatitis C patients who have liver cirrhosis.
Results: out of 17614 patients 1217 (0.069%) were positive for HCV. Out of 1217 HCV positive cases, 250 patients were having cirrhosis. Genotype 3 (n=139) was the most common genotype among cirrhotic patients followed by Genotype 1(n=69), genotype 4 (n=40) and genotype 5(n=2). No case with genotype 2 and 6 were detected among cirrhotic patients in our study.
Conclusion: As reported in rest of India genotype 3 was the most common genotype in Malwa belt of Punjab. So early detection and genotyping can help in treatment strategies followed by physicians to cure HCV positive patients.