Distribution of HCV Genotypes and RNA Viral Load Along with Hemato-Biochemical Analysis of HCV Patients in Rahim Yar Khan, Okara and Toba Tek Singh Districts of Punjab, Pakistan

Background: HCV has very diverse genotypes in nature, divided into variable number of subtypes. Due to epidemiologically divergent subtypes, it shows diverse geographical distributions, which makes it difficult to treat. This disease plays havoc with underdeveloped and developing countries due to scarcity of data and poor awareness among common people. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the geographical distribution of HCV genotypes and RNA viral load along with hemato-biochemical analysis of HCV patients in underdeveloped and neglected areas of Punjab province, Pakistan. Results: Out of 1115 samples, 583 (52.3%) from males and 532 (47.7%) from females were declared as HCV RNA positive samples. In all the three regions, genotype 3 (46.3%) was found to be the most frequent genotype in both genders followed by genotype 2 (28.9%), genotype 1 (12.5%), genotype 4 (2.2%), genotype 5 (1.8%), genotype 6 (1.2%), untypeable genotypes (5.2%), and mixed genotypes (2.41%). Most of the patients had viral load less than 600,000 IU/mL. Conclusions: HCV genotype 3a is the most prevalent genotype in various regions of Punjab. Effective HCV awareness programs and novel therapeutic measures should be enforced to combat against HCV infection. Moreover, geographical distribution and mapping of HCV in Pakistan should be studied to develop better control strategies against HCV infection.