Hepatitis C virus genotypes in patients with end-stage renal disease in East Azerbaijan, Iran.

Information about the genotypes and associated risk factors in hepatitis C virus (HCV) infected patients in Iran is limited. The aim of this study was to identify the HCV genotypes and associated risk factors in a group of HCV infected patients on dialysis therapy in Iran. The sera of 753 patients with chronic renal failure from fifteen dialysis units in East Azerbaijan Province were screened for anti-HCV antibodies as well as HCV RNA; viral RNA was extracted for the genotype specific primer approach. Patients were questioned concerning documented risk factors. Genotyping analysis was performed in 55 patients with positive anti-HCV and HCV-RNA. Genotypes 1 and 3 were found in 46 (83.7%) and three (5.5%) patients, respectively. The most frequent HCV subtype was 1a (76.4%), followed by 3a and 1b and 1b (5.5% each) while one patient was infected with both 1a and 1b. There was no statistically significant difference between the risk factors analyzed and the acquisition of HCV infection. This study gives added evidence of the predominant HCV genotypes in Iran, which is different than reports from other Arab countries and similar with the pattern of genotype in both Europe and United States.