Prevalence of Hepatitis C virus and determination of its genotypes in subjects of Tehsil Daggar District Buner, KP, Pakistan

Background: Hepatitis C is a noteworthy public health issue around the globe, resulting in liver-related problems. The disease is caused Hepatitis C virus a positive sense RNA virus belongs to Flaviviridae family. Approximately 6% population of Pakistan is infected with HCV. Due to genetic variation, HCV is categorized into 7 genotypes and 67 subtypes. Methodology: In this study total 1100 ICT positive samples were collected from December 2016 to May 2017 from Tehsil Dagger District Buner. RNA was extracted from ICT positive serum samples of 1100 patients and, were screened for HCV-RNA by using Reverse Transcriptase-Nested polymerase chain reaction (RT-nested PCR) and, then the positive samples were subjected for HCV genotyping. Statistical analysis was carried on SPSS version 10.0. Results: Out of 1100 ICT positive samples, HCV RNA was detected in 375 individuals, of which 14.9% were males and, 19.2% females. The frequency of HCV genotypes Untypable was 43.5%), followed by 3a (29.6%), 3 b was 9.6%, 2a was 5.9%, 1a was 5.3%, 1 b (4.0%) and, 2 b was 1.9% in these patients. Both genotypes untypable and 3a were the most prevalent genotypes in patients of all age groups and its prevalence was found high among patients with increasing age (>30years). The prevalence rate of HCV in age of 21-30 years (30.1%), of 31-40 years the percentage of positive cases are 24.85% and 11-20 years of age group is (11.4%). Furthermore, genotypes untypable, 3a and 3 b were found to be the most common genotypes in patients with history of barber shops, dental surgery, and receiving multiple injections. Conclusion: The current study reveals HCV untypable variants as the most frequent genotypes in the HCV patients of district Buner KP, Pakistan, with most patients in the age group 21-30 years. HCV various isolates were associated with different routes of transmission. The predominant factors of HCV included shaving in barber shops and intra-venous drugs use. These findings may suggest anti-HCV therapy and monitoring HCV infections.