Distribution of Hepatitis C Virus genotypes within in-and outpatients tested by the Immuno-Haematology and Blood Transfusion Service of the “Azienda Ospedaliera S. Maria, Terni” in the year 2012

Background. The diffusion of Hepatitis C Virus genotypes in a specific geographical area plays a crucial role in public health defense management. Objectives. In this study we evaluated the prevalence and distribution of the HCV genotypes in 204 HCV-RNA positive samples of outcoming and incoming patients of the Molecular Biology Laboratory of the Immuno- Haematology and Blood Transfusion Unit, AO “S. Maria”, Terni, from Jenaury to December 2012. Study Design. We have analized HCV genotypes prevalence and distribution in relation to qualitative variables such as sex, age, in- or out-coming. Results. The results show that during the year 2012 the most prevalence genotype was genotype 1 (53.9%). As far as the HCV subgenotypes, 1a and 3a were prevalent within males (25% and 20.1%, respectively) and subgenotype 1b was most prevalent within females (9.3%). In addition we observed also an increase in genotype 4 (10.3%), probably due to the continuous migration of population from Northen-Africa and Middle-Eastern countries where such variant 4 is endemic. In regards to age, our data show that patients between the age of 30 and 50 years old, presented mainly HCV genotypes 3a (27%) and 4c (12.7%) whereas over 50 years old patients harboured more frequently genotypes 1b (25.3%) and 2a (23.9%). Conclusions. The high frequency of isolation of genotypes 1a and 3a agrees with previous observation made in patients from Northen and Central Italy where the infection with this viral variant is characteristic of young patients and is often associated with drug abuse. On the contrary, genotypes 1b and 2a seems to be more associated to community- acquired infections predominantly in blood transfused patients.