P2-75 Haemochromatosis gene mutations in Moroccan patients with chronic viral hepatitis B and C

The implication of haemochromatosis (HFE) gene mutations in chronic viral hepatitis remains controversial. The aim of the present study was to assess the frequencies of the common haemochromatosis gene mutations in Moroccan subjects with chronic viral hepatitis B and C. H63D and C282Y mutations were screened by using polymerase chain reaction followed by restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis in 170 chronic hepatitis B patients, 168 chronic hepatitis C patients and 200 healthy controls. The distribution of allele frequency was then compared between different groups of patients. No subject homozygous for the C282Y mutation was found while 1.76% and 0% were heterozygous for this mutation in HBV and HCV patients, that is, rates not statistically different from those observed in healthy control (2%, 0.129