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Molecular characterization and clinical epidemiology of HCV in District Dir (Lower), Pakistan

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Abstract

With about 200 million infections globally, Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a major global health threat. The relative prevalence of hepatitis and HCV genotypes/subtypes varies among different geographic regions. Therefore, the present study was conducted to determine the prevalence of hepatitis C and HCV genotypes/subtypes in District Dir (Lower), Pakistan. Blood samples from HCV positive patients were genotyped through multiplex PCR using specific primers for HCV core region. A structured questionnaire was used to obtain information from the patients and data was statistically analyzed for different epidemiological parameters. The molecular evaluation results suggested the prevalence of genotype 3 in this study. The frequency of hepatitis C was found higher in males (P < 0.01). Present study suggests injections received at local clinics as a highly significant mode of HCV transmission to these patients (P < 0.002). These findings might be helpful for clinicians and related health care personnel to assess status of this important disease and highlight the need for more detailed evaluation of this devastating disease in order to frame better treatment strategies.

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Acknowledgements

The Authors are thankful to Ms. Nosheen Riaz for her help in sample collection and Mr. Liaqat Ali, Director, Saifi Clinical laboratory, Islamabad in sample processing.

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Author notes

  1. Anshu Babbar

    Present address: Department of Paediatrics, RWTH University Hospital, Aachen, Germany

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biotechnology, Shaheed Benazir Bhutto University, Dir Upper, Pakistan

    Sami Ullah

  2. Institute for Pathology, PMAS Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan

    Muhammad Akram Khan

  3. Department of Pharmacy, Shaheed Benazir Bhutto University, Dir Upper, Pakistan

    Shafiq Ur Rahman

  4. Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany

    Imran Khan

  5. Center for Biotechnology and Microbiology, University of Swat, Mingora, Pakistan

    Fazal Akbar

  6. Helmholtz Center for Infection Research, Brunswick, Germany

    Sami Ullah & Anshu Babbar

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  1. Sami Ullah
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Correspondence to Anshu Babbar.

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Ullah, S., Khan, M.A., Rahman, S.U. et al. Molecular characterization and clinical epidemiology of HCV in District Dir (Lower), Pakistan. VirusDis. 29, 369–374 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13337-018-0457-1

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