Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a causative agent that causes chronic liver diseases
worldwide. It is a little, enclosed, single-stranded ribonucleic acid (RNA) virus. The
recognition of the pathogenic HCV genotype is critical for the remedy of its sufferers.
The aim of this study was to identify the HCV RNA genotype to decide the correct
treatment of hepatitis C positive sufferers in Bangladesh. Blood samples were collected
from 390 individuals and isolated RNA (60 µg) from blood plasma. Extracted RNA was
used for quantitative HCV RNA, and complementary DNA (cDNA) was prepared by
polymerase chain reaction (PCR) conducted by reverse transcriptase enzyme. This
cDNA amplified in multiplex by RT-PCR, which was performed with specific set of
primers. The HCV RNA genotype was detected 297 of 390 patients. Of the 390 test
samples, 200 (51.28%) samples were from males and 190 (48.71%) were from females,
with age ranging from 5 to 78 years. In all, 166 of 200 male samples and 131/190
female samples were found positive for HCV. Of these 390 participants included in the
study, 213 (54.61%) were identified as genotype 3 positive, 78 (20%) as genotype 1
positive, 6 (1.53%) as genotype 6 positive, and the remaining 93 (23.85%) samples were
unclassified due to low/undetected viral load. In this study, we detected the highest
percentage (30.89%) of genotype 3 HCV in patients aged 51 to 60 years. The results
suggested that genotype 3 HCV is frequently present in Bangladesh and it is usually
responses better to interferon therapy. However, genotype 1 and 6 HCV have also been
found circulating in this country, which demands longer treatments and effective
control measures.