The Most Prevalent Hepatitis C Virus Genotypes in England and Wales Are 3a and 1a

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotypes were assigned to 567 individuals by restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of the 5′ noncoding region of the HCV genome following reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction. The groups of individuals in this study included hemophilia patients, injecting drug users (IDUs), blood donors, antenatal patients, those attending genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinics, and patients with chronic liver disease, all from England and Wales. The majority of HCV infections were types 1a (32%), 1b (15%), or 3a (37%). The genotype distribution in individual groups was similar to the overall genotype distribution except for hemophilia patients, in whom the frequencies were 1a (39%), 1b (23%), and 3a (21%). With the exception of hemophilia patients, subpopulations in England and Wales appear to share common modes of HCV transmission. There is a need for continued surveillance to monitor the spread of possibly more virulent or drug-resistant HCV genotypes. J. Med. Virol. 58:127–131, 1999. © 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.