[Hepatitis C virus genotypes circulating in Colombia].

INTRODUCTION: Chronic hepatitis C virus infection is a worldwide public health problem; it has been estimated that over 180 million people are infected with this virus worldwide. Its precise incidence and prevalence (i.e., epidemiology) and the most frequent circulating genotypes in Colombia are unknown.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotypes and subtypes in infected Colombian patients.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: We recovered the data on 1,538 HCV isolates from 1,527 patients in two Colombian reference laboratories typed by PAGE or qPCR.

RESULTS: Patients' mean age was 53 years; 70% of them were 40 to 70 years old, and 52%, females; 57% of all tests were ordered in Bogotá and 80% of cases were from Cundinamarca, Valle and Atlántico departments. Genotype 1 was detected in 88.6% of cases, distributed as follows: 70% subtype 1b, 13.5% subtype 1a and 5.1%, undetermined subtypes. Genotype 2 was found in 5.4% of the patients, genotype 3 in 2% and genotype 4 in 4%. Mixed genotypes were found in 0.8% of the samples.

CONCLUSION: Genotype 1 is the most common HCV genotype circulating in Colombia, and subtype 1b the most frequent.