Epidemiological features of patients infected with HCV genotype 4 in Poland

Background: hepatitis c genotype 4 (hcv-4) is considered to be rare outside northern africaand southern europe.objectives: to describe the epidemiological characteristics of patients infected with hcv-4 in poland.patients and methods: the study group included 290 patients with hcv-related chronic liver disease and intravenous drug users with hcv infection recruited in years 2002-2006 in podlaskie region, north-eastern poland. in all cases, hcv infection was confirmed by hcv-rna detection by qualitative nested rt-pcr. hcv genotype was determined by 5'utr sequencing and comparison with known genotype-specific sequences.results: hcv 4 was found in 45 (15.5%) of 290 hcv-infected and hcv rna-positive individuals. 60% of hcv 4 infections occurred in intravenous drug users; 51% of hcv 4-infected patients were also hiv-positive. among 119 patients whose source of infection was other than drug use, there were 16 (10.5%) hcv 4 cases. seven (46%) of 13 hcv 4-positive and hiv-negative atients who received combined antiviral treatment had sustained viral response.conclusions: hcv 4 exists in eastern poland, and the infection is frequently related to intravenous drug use and accompanied by hiv infection. hcv 4 also causes a proportion of nondrug-related hcv infections.