Eleven-Year Distribution Pattern of Hepatitis C Virus in Southern Italy

Figure 1

Dynamic distributions of HCV genotypes from January 2001 to December 2011. The Cobas AmpliPrep/Cobas TaqMan HCV test (Roche Diagnostics, Milan, Italy) has been used for extraction and detection of HCV RNA [7]. To search the viral RNA in samples collected before April 2006, the Cobas Amplicor HCV monitor test, version 2.0 (Roche Diagnostics, Milan, Italy) was used [8]. The amplified region of HCV genome was the 5′-UTR following the producer recommendations. PCR products were analyzed directly for genotyping by line probe assay (Versant HCV genotype 2.0 assay (LIPA) by Siemens, Healthcare Diagnostic Inc., Tarrytown, NY, USA, formerly Bayer Healthcare LLC, Tarrytown, NY, USA, formerly Innogenetics, Ghent, Belgium) based on reverse-hybridization, according to the manufacturer’s protocol.