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Genotype indicating factors

What is it that indicated the genotype? Is it the iron count in the liver or the viral count? How do i know my genoype i I have heard that genotype 3 is usually associated with IV drug use as the cause of the HCV if that is true than is that my genotype?
The blood test indicate moderate -low iron count, would that mean that the vial count is low and is likely to respond well to treatment.
Thnx
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766573 tn?1365166466

i I have heard that genotype 3 is usually associated with IV drug use as the cause of the HCV if that is true than is that my genotype?

That sounds like a myth. Finding out your Genotype is as simple as finding out your viral load. If you have not had the lab now is the time to ask. Worrying about how you contracted the virus is fruitless though common enough for many of us in the beginning.
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Avatar universal
I was treated for Hip C type 3 in Jan. 2012 24 weeks of PEG and REB. I finished in JUNE 2012 . I was never a drug user. i never used needles, I did have some female surgery in or around 1980 and was given a  blood transfusing due to hemorrhaging  blood was not checked back then.  This is how I got my HIP C

bbj
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1815939 tn?1377991799
Here are the links to the above information:

http://www.hepatitis-central.com/hepatitis-c/hepatitis-c-genotypes.html

http://www.hepatitis-central.com/hcv/genotype/explained.html
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1815939 tn?1377991799
I will try to respond to your questions:

"What is it that indicated the genotype? Is it the iron count in the liver or the viral count? How do i know my genoype."
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You will have the Genotype that was in the blood that infected you. So if the blood that infected you was Genotype 1, then you will also have Genotype 1. Neither the iron nor the viral count has anything to do with which Genotype you are. You will know your Genotype when your doctor orders a test that ascertains which Genotype you are.

"I have heard that genotype 3 is usually associated with IV drug use as the cause of the HCV if that is true than is that my genotype? "
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IV drug use does not determine the Genotype. IV drug users will get whichever Genotype they were exposed to. That varies from region to region. If you used the same needle/syringe as someone with Genotype a, then you will get Genotype 1. If it was Genotype 3, then you will get Genotype 3. You will not know your Genotype until you have a test that determines Genotype.

"The blood test indicate moderate -low iron count, would that mean that the vial count is low and is likely to respond well to treatment. "
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The iron count does not determine the viral load or vice versa.

Below is some information from Hepatitis Centeral. It shouild help you better understand the Genotypes.


From Hepatitis Central:

Hepatitis C

Are There Different Types of Hepatitis C?

Hepatitis C is divided into six distinct genotypes throughout the world with multiple subtypes in each genotype class. A genotype is a classification of a virus based on the genetic material in the RNA (Ribonucleic acid) strands of the virus. Generally, patients are only infected with one genotype, but each genotype is actually a mixture of closely-related viruses called quasi-species. These quasi-species have the ability to mutate very quickly and become immune to current treatments, which explains why chronic Hepatitis C is so difficult to treat.

Following is a list of the different genotypes of chronic Hepatitis C:

Genotype 1a
Genotype 1b
Genotype 2a, 2b, 2c & 2d
Genotype 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d, 3e & 3f
Genotype 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d, 4e, 4f, 4g, 4h, 4i & 4j
Genotype 5a
Genotype 6a

Genotype 1 is the most common type of Hepatitis C genotype in the United States and the most difficult to treat. For physicians, knowing the genotype of Hepatitis C is helpful in making a therapeutic recommendation. Individuals with genotypes 2 and 3 are almost three times more likely than individuals with genotype 1 to respond to therapy with alpha interferon or the combination of alpha interferon and ribavirin. Furthermore, when using combination therapy, the recommended duration of treatment depends on the genotype. For this reason, testing for Hepatitis C genotype is often clinically helpful. Once the genotype is identified, it need not be tested again as genotypes do not change during the course of infection.

Genotypes Explained

It is much easier to talk of the Hepatitis C virus as if it is a single organism but in fact it is a range of viruses, similar enough to be called Hepatitis C virus, yet different enough to be classified into subgroups.

Viruses are microscopic and no person could ever see them with the naked eye. Indeed, HCV is so small that there's been no confirmed actual sighting of it using any type of microscope yet developed.

Consequently, a better way to understand the terms HCV 'genotypes' and 'subtypes' is to compare them to things that we can more readily relate to.

Genotypes

The group of birds we call 'raptors' (birds of prey) have evolved into different main types. Imagining raptors as being Hepatitis C viruses, you could take one major raptor type, such as eagles, and imagine these as being one of HCV's main types (genotypes).

Subtypes

But eagles as a group are made up of different sub types such as the American Bald Eagle and Australia's Wedge Tailed Eagle and Sea Eagle. You could imagine each of these as being one of the HCV subtypes that make up an HCV genotype.

Quasispecies

Within each of above particular types of eagles, there are further differences. All Wedge Tailed Eagles, for example, differ from each other in regard to wing span, weight, color, beak size, etc. Similarly, within a Hepatitis C sub-type, individual viruses differ from each other ever so slightly. Such viral differences are not significant enough to form another sub-type but instead form what's known as quasi-species. It is believed that within an HCV sub-type, several million quasispecies may exist. Scientists predict that people who have Hepatitis C, have billions of actual viruses circulating within their body. Although there may be one or two predominant sub-types, the infection as a whole is not a single entity and is composed of many different quasispecies.

Classifications

Biologists are generally not known for creativity when it comes to naming things - hence Hepatitis C virus. The most commonly used classification of Hepatitis C virus has HCV divided into the following genotypes (main types): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11. As we've highlighted, HCV genotypes can be broken down into sub-types, some of which include:

1a, 1b, 1c
2a, 2b, 2c
3a, 3b
4a, 4b, 4c, 4d, 4e
5a
6a
7a, 7b
8a, 8b
9a
10a
11a

Genotype patterns

It is believed that theHhepatitis C virus has evolved over a period of several thousand years. This would explain the current general global patterns of genotypes and subtypes:

1a - mostly found in North & South America; also common in Australia
1b - mostly found in Europe and Asia.
2a - is the most common genotype 2 in Japan and China.
2b - is the most common genotype 2 in the U.S. and Northern Europe.
2c - the most common genotype 2 in Western and Southern Europe.
3a - highly prevalent here in Australia (40% of cases) and South Asia.
4a - highly prevalent in Egypt
4c - highly prevalent in Central Africa
5a - highly prevalent only in South Africa
6a - restricted to Hong Kong, Macau and Vietnam
7a and 7b - common in Thailand
8a, 8b & 9a - prevalent in Vietnam
10a & 11a - found in Indonesia

It's believed that of the estimated 160,000 Australians with HCV, approx. 35% have subtype '1a', 15% have '1b', 7% have '2', 35% have '3' (mostly being 3a). The remaining people would have other genotypes.

Genotype and treatment

Current scientific belief is that factors such as duration of a person's HCV infection, their HCV viral load, age, grade of liver inflammation or stage of fibrosis may play an important role in determining response to interferon treatment. Recent studies have suggested that a person's HCV subtype (or subtypes) may influence their possible response to interferon, or interferon-ribavirin combination treatment. Worldwide trials are being conducted which will soon shed more light on this belief. We'll publish any reports as they come to hand.
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Avatar universal
             you are in the right place to learn.  your v/l and genotype are measured  after you test + for antibodies.  your dr should have pcr rna, geno, ultrasound of abdomin, and biopsy to show you where your liver is at presently.
           as far as your genotype, i think it is around 70% of people in the US have geno 1.  and i believe a drug use accounts for the lions share.  maybe someone can show you a link to geotypes that dominate, didderent parts of the world.    good luck      barry
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Avatar universal
I'm not really clued up about this yet, but I can tell you that geno type 3 isn't just related to iv use.. I have geno 1& I was iv user. As for the other questions you asked, have a look around this forum, I've found a great deal out. Also your hepatic doctor/nurse... Good luck
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