Systematic Reviews
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2022. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. May 16, 2022; 10(14): 4480-4493
Published online May 16, 2022. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v10.i14.4480
Distribution and changes in hepatitis C virus genotype in China from 2010 to 2020
Jia Yang, Hui-Xin Liu, Ying-Ying Su, Zhi-Sheng Liang, Hui-Ying Rao
Jia Yang, Hui-Ying Rao, Peking University Hepatology Institute, Beijing Key Laboratory of Hepatitis C and Immunotherapy for Liver Diseases, Peking University People’s Hospital, Beijing 100044, China
Hui-Xin Liu, Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Peking University People’s Hospital, Beijing 100044, China
Ying-Ying Su, National Institute of Diagnostics and Vaccine Development in Infectious Diseases, School of Public Health, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361000, Fujian Province, China
Zhi-Sheng Liang, Department of Global Health, School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing 100044, China
Author contributions: Yang J performed the research, analyzed the data, drew some of the figures and wrote the paper; Liu HX and Su YY designed the research; Liang ZS drew some of the pictures; Rao HY and Liu HX supervised the whole research, such as the design of the methodology, validation, review and editing of the paper.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All of the authors declare no conflicts of interest regarding the work in this paper. The authors declare no study sponsor involvement in the study design; in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to submit the manuscript for publication.
PRISMA 2009 Checklist statement: The authors have read the PRISMA 2009 Checklist, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the PRISMA 2009 Checklist.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Hui-Ying Rao, MD, PhD, Chief Doctor, Professor, Peking University Hepatology Institute, Beijing Key Laboratory of Hepatitis C and Immunotherapy for Liver Diseases, Peking University People’s Hospital, No. 11 Xizhimen South Street, Xicheng District, Beijing 100044, China. rao.huiying@163.com
Received: November 8, 2021
Peer-review started: November 8, 2021
First decision: February 14, 2022
Revised: February 28, 2022
Accepted: March 25, 2022
Article in press: March 25, 2022
Published online: May 16, 2022
Processing time: 185 Days and 17.8 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) causes a large number of infections worldwide. New infections seem to be increasing according to a report of the World Health Organization in 2015. Although direct-acting antivirals are quite effective for most genotypes of the HCV, some genotypes fail to respond. Therefore, the trend of genotype distribution is vital to better control the development of this infection.

AIM

To analyze the distribution and trends of the HCV genotype before and after the emergence of direct-acting antivirals in China.

METHODS

We searched all literature published in five electronic databases-China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wan Fang Data, VIP Chinese Journal Database, Chinese Biomedical Literature Service System, and PubMed-from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2020. The search strategy combined medical subject headings and free-text terms, including “hepatitis C virus” or “HCV” and “genotype” or “subtype” and ”China” or “Chinese”. Additional relevant articles were searched by manual selection. Data were extracted to build a database. All of the data were totaled according to regions, periods, routes of transmission, and sexes. The percentages in various stratifications were calculated.

RESULTS

There were 76110 samples from 30 provinces included in the study. Genotype 1 (G1) accounted for 58.2% of cases nationwide, followed by G2, G6, G3b, G3a, unclassified and mixed infections (17.5%, 7.8%, 6.4%, 4.9%, 1.8%, and 1.2%, respectively). The constitution of genotype varied among different regions, with G6 and G3b being more common in the south and southwest, respectively (28.1%, 15.4%). The past ten years have witnessed a decrease in G1 and G2 and an increase in G3 and G6 in almost all regions. The drug-use population had the most abundant genotypes, with G6 ranking first (33.3%), followed by G1 and G3b (23.4%, 18.5%).

CONCLUSION

G3 and G6 pose a new challenge for HCV infection. This study revealed the distribution of HCV genotypes in China over the past 10 years, providing information for HCV management strategies.

Keywords: Hepacivirus; Genotype; China; Drug users; Direct-acting antiviral; Hepatitis C virus

Core Tip: This article comprehensively included the literature published in recent years and reflects a picture of the genotype constitution of hepatitis C virus (HCV), showing increases in genotype 3 and genotype 6 owing to an increase in intravenous drug users, providing the prevention direction for future HCV control.