Prevalence of Mixed Infections in HCV Chronically Infected Patients

Abstract

Introduction: Mixed infections by different HCV genotypes constitute an important concern worldwide. Τhe aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of mixed infections by two or more HCV genotypes in HCV chronically infected patients. 

Materials and Methods: 100 HCV-RNA positive patients were included in this study. This retrospective study was conducted according to the 
Helsinki Declaration. Informed consent of patients was not compulsory due to its retrospectivity. HCV-RNA was detected by means of Cobas 
Taqman 48 with High Pure System, Roche. Sequencing was performed by Trugene® HCV 5’NC Genotyping Kit (Siemens). Statistics were performed with SPSS version 25.0.

Results: mixed infections were detected in 15 patients (15.0 %, 8 male and 7 female). Mixed infections were as follows: 3 patients were infected by types 1a+1b, 3 by types 2a+2c, 2 by types 3a+3c, 1 by types 3a+3d, 1 by types 3a+3d+3e, 2 by types 3a+3e, 2 by 4a+4d and 1 by types 4a+4c+4d. Mixed infections were equally distributed among male and female patients (p-value = 0.402). The mean age of individuals infected only with one HCV type was 41.9 years old; while of those mix-infected were 51.9. Statistically significant differences of mix infections distribution according to age were detected (p-value = 0.032). There were no cases with mixed infections across types.

Conclusions: Mixed HCV infections have been reported in many studies. Their prevalence varies worldwide and regional differences exist in their distribution. Mixed infection prevalence depends on the risk factors in the population under study. In this study, the prevalence of mixed HCV infections was 15.0 % and all patients belonged to high-risk groups. Moreover, all mix-infected patients had long-lasting disease course and liver cirrhosis.