Objective To investigate the status of hepatitis C virus( HCV) infection among injecting drug users( IDUs) in Chenzhou,China. Methods Serum samples from 181 IDUs who were treated in methadone clinics in Chenzhou from August to September,2014 were collected. RT-PCR and ELISA were applied to detect HCV RNA and antibody,and sequencing was applied to determine the HCV genotype.Mann-Whitney U test was applied for comparison between groups. Results Among these 181 IDUs,160 were infected with HCV,with a positive rate of 88. 4%( 160 /181); 134 patients had positive antibody and RNA results( Ig G+RNA+: 74%),19 patients had positive antibody and negative RNA results( Ig G+RNA-: 10. 5%),and 7 patients had negative antibody and positive RNA results( Ig G-RNA+:3. 9%); 19 patients had co-infection with HCV and hepatitis B virus( HBV). The patients infected with HCV in Ig G+RNA+group had significantly higher levels of alanine aminotransferase( ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase( AST) levels than those in Ig G-RNA+and Ig G+RNA-groups( all P < 0. 01); ALT and AST levels did not differ significantly between patients with single infection with HCV or HBV and those with co-infection with HBV and HCV( all P > 0. 05). Among the 133 HCV RNA-positive samples,there were 81 samples of genotype 6a( 60. 9%) and 36 samples of genotype 3( 27. 1%). Conclusion IDUs have a high HCV infection rate,with main genotypes of 6a and 3,and co-infection with HCV and HBV does not aggravate liver injury.
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