An overview on hepatitis C virus genotypes and its control

Abstract

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a blood borne, circular and positive single stranded virus with high spread rates. With the passage of time the frequency of HCV is increasing in different parts of the world. HCV is a major cause, which may end in liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. HCV has six main genotypes with many subtypes, which have variable sequence homology with each other. Symptoms can appear anytime from 2 weeks to 6 months, which include jaundice, fatigue, gray-colored stool, joint pain, belly pain, weakness, anorexia, itchy skin and dark urine. Genotyping is more significant for planning of HCV treatment period and helps to cure HCV infections. For the quantification and identification of hepatitis C virus-ribonucleic acid, many molecular techniques are performed; the most significant are HCV ELISA, quantitative HCV-RNA PCR and recombinant immunoblot assay. PCR is the major technique targeting 50 untranslated region (UTR). HCV can be transmitted by contaminated blood, ear and nose piercing and contaminated medical instruments. To overcome the rate of HCV, guidance should be provided to make aware the persons about risk factors, transmission and prevention. Discovery and designing of new therapies and vaccines to overcome this disease are the necessity of the present era. Four types of vaccines such as vector vaccines, peptide vaccines, DNA vaccines and recombinant protein vaccines are available in clinical trials.

KEYWORDS Hepatitis C virus; Genotypes; 50UTR; Ribavirin; PCR