Whats it all mean?

Can anyone tell me the difference between a genotype 1 b and a genotype 2 etc?
My husband is a genotype 1b and I understand it's harder to cure this type according to the nurse.
BUT we are told his VL is 248,000 which they said is actually low according th the nurse.
He's also told he's a stage 3 so where does he stand in regards to being cured? I realize there are no guarantees but it's hard to understand all the goods and bads from this report.  My husband had a liver biopsy and numerous blood tests and that's where this information comes from.
I guess I'm asking if there are any stats out there for genotype 1b and if folks on this site were 1b and cured.  I'm confused because on one hand we are told 1b is not good, stage 3 is not good and oh by the way... the VL is a good thing at 248,000    

[desrt]

Of the three factors you mention, genotype has the most relevance to predicting whether he'll have a sustained response to treatment.
Genotype 1 HCV contains 9030-9042 nucleotides and aprox.50% of genotype 1 will clear the virus and stay clear with the current treatment of pegylated interferon and ribavirin. This number may go up about 15% if some of the newer drugs now being tested are added to the mix, but adding these newer drugs is also causing a higher # of patients to discontinue tx due to side effects. Genotype 3 - 9063 nucleotides - aprox 80% SVR. Genotype 2 - 9099 nucleotides - 90% SVR. Genotype 1b is slightly more diffucult to clear than 1a.
Viral loads can change all the time and have the least predictive value in SVR. Next month your husbands vl could be 2,480,000 or 24,800 and it wouldn't be particularly surprising.
Stage 3 fibrosis will probably be easier to cure than waiting till it becomes stage 4, which would then be considered cirhosis.

[Pinksmything]

Thanks desrt,
it makes sense!   Janet