Distribution of Hepatitis C Virus genotypes among HCV positive patients in Iran by PCR-RFLP

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the major cause of chronic liver disease such as acute and chronic hepatitis, liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Based on its genetic variability, HCV is classified into at least six genotypes and a series of subtypes. Different genotypes are seen in different parts of the world. HCV genotyping is important for prediction of success of chemotherapy and progression of liver diseases.so recent studies have focused on determination of HCV genotypes. In this study, viral genomic of 86 patients extracted from sera were detected by nested-real time (RT) PCR. PCR products were digested with proper enzymes and studied by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP).The results of PCR-RFLP were as follows: 1a (52.3%), 1b (11.6%), 3a (29.1%), 2a (2.3%), 4 (4.7%). Our results showed that types 1a and 3a were the most prevalent HCV genotypes in our samples.