Six-year distribution pattern of hepatitis C virus in Turkey: a multicentre study

Hepatitis C infection is a public health problem. The aim of this retrospective study was to determine the distribution of hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotypes in seven regions of Turkey, by evaluating 7002 patients with chronic HCV in a six-year period. During the 2009-2014 period, serum/plasma samples from 7002 new consecutive HCV RNA positive patients were collected. The female patients were 3867 (55.2%). The genotype distribution of HCV patiens was evaluated by ages and years. Statistical analysis was performed by using the Mann-Whitney test and the chi(2) analysis. During the six-year period, genotype 1b was the most common genotype (67.7%) followed by untypeable genotype 1 (7.7%), genotype 4 (7.3%) and genotype 3 (6.7%). In 2014, genotype 3 was the second most common one (11.3%) and genotype 4 was the third most common one (9.8%). In the group with