The phylogeographic and spatiotemporal spread of HCV in Pakistani population

Noor Ul Huda Ghori, Atif Shafique, M. Hayat, Sadia Anjum

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

4 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) is the most prevalent human pathogen in Pakistan and is the major cause of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma in infected patients. It has shifted from being hypo-endemic to being hyper-endemic. There was no information about the origin and evolution of the local variants. Here we use newly developed phyloinformatic methods of sequence analysis to conduct the first comprehensive investigation of the evolutionary and biogeographic history in unprecedented detail and breadth. Considering evolutionary rate and molecular-clock hypothesis in context, we reconstructed the spatiotemporal spread of HCV in the whole territory of its circulation using a combination of Bayesian MCMC methods utilizing all sequences available in GenBank. Comparative analysis were performed and were addressed. Whole genome and individual gene analysis have shown that sub-types 1a, 1b and 3a are recognized as epidemic strains and are distributed globally. Here we confirm that the origin of HCV 3a genotypes is in South Asia and HCV has evolved in the region to become stably adapted to the host environment.

Original languageEnglish
Article numbere0164265
JournalPLoS One
Volume11
Issue number10
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Oct 2016

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'The phylogeographic and spatiotemporal spread of HCV in Pakistani population'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this