Hepatitis C virus diversification in Argentina: comparative analysis between the large city of Buenos Aires and the small rural town of O'Brien.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The estimated prevalence of HCV infection in Argentina is around 2%. However, higher rates of infection have been described in population studies of small urban and rural communities. The aim of this work was to compare the origin and diversification of HCV-1b in samples from two different epidemiological scenarios: Buenos Aires, a large cosmopolitan city, and O'Brien, a small rural town with a high prevalence of HCV infection.

Patients and methods

The E1/E2 and NS5B regions of the viral genome from 83 patients infected with HCV-1b were sequenced. Phylogenetic analysis and Bayesian Coalescent methods were used to study the origin and diversification of HCV-1b in both patient populations.

Results

Samples from Buenos Aires showed a polyphyletic behavior with

SUBMITTER: Golemba MD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3875501 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature