Molecular Detection of Hepatitis C Virus amongst Patients in Five Selected Hospitals in Niger State, Nigeria

Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) is a major public health problem in developing and developed countries worldwide. It is responsible for liver diseases and hepatocellular carcinoma in chronically-infected patients. This study therefore aimed to identify the strain of HCV among HCV seropositive subjects in Niger State. A total of 44 HCV seropositive blood samples which consisted of 27 males and 17 females were analyzed (after Viral RNA extraction) for the presence of HCV-RNA by Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR). Nine (20.5%) of the samples were positive for HCV RNA. HCV-RNA positive samples were genotyped by direct sequencing at 5’UTR region genomes; sequences were aligned on MEGA 6.0 and confirmed by phylogenetic analysis. HCV genotype 1b was the only one distributed among the participants. The findings are relevant as predictors for using antiviral therapy in this population because the response to treatment varies according to the genotype.