Malaysian Journal of Microbiology, Vol 16(1) 2020, pp. 29-33 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.21161/mjm.180324 Malaysian Journal of Microbiology Published by Malaysian Society for Microbiology (In since 2011) 29 ISSN (print): 1823-8262, ISSN (online): 2231-7538 *Corresponding author Identification of hepatitis C virus genotypes in volunteer blood donors from blood transfusion center of Tuban, Indonesia Supiana Dian Nurtjahyani 1 *, Mochamad Amin 2 and Retno Handajani 2,3 * 1 Faculty of Teaching and Education, Ronggolawe University, Jl. Manunggal No. 61 Tuban, 62381, East Java, Indonesia. 2 Institute of Tropical Disease, Airlangga University, Jl. Mulyorejo ITD Kampus C Unair, Surabaya, Indonesia. 3 Department of Medical Biochemistry of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Airlangga University, Jl. Mayjen Prof. Dr. Moestopo 47 Surabaya, Indonesia. Email: diananin39@gmail.com, retno-h@fk.unair.ac.id Received 18 December 2018; Received in revised form 9 April 2019; Accepted 20 August 2019 ABSTRACT Aims: The most common transmission route of hepatitis C virus (HCV) is via blood transfusion. Therefore, the screening of HCV is necessary to be performed regularly for all the volunteer blood donors. The prevalence of HCV subtypes varies in different geographical areas. The aim of this study is to identify the HCV genotypes of the HCV-RNA positive samples and performed serological and molecular characterization of HCV among blood donors from Blood Transfusion Center of Tuban, East Java, Indonesia collected during the year of 2015. Methodology and results: All blood donor samples were screened by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for anti-HCV. Reverse Transcription - Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) was performed to detect the HCV-RNA. Subsequently, the HCV-RNA positive samples were genotyped using direct sequencing followed by subtype/genotype and phylogenetic analysis. Of the 500 blood samples, 7 were positive for anti-HCV antibody (1.4%) and 6 out of 7 (85.71%) were determined to be HCV-RNA positive. Among HCV-RNA carriers, genotyping showed genotypes 1 was the most prevalent. HCV subtypes 1a and 1b were detected in total of 4 out of 6 individuals (66.67%), two individuals for each. HCV subtypes 2a and genotype 1 were the least frequent among blood donors (each counted for 16.67%). Conclusion, significance and impact for study: The prevalence of HCV found in this study is considerably low. The identification of genotypes 1a and 1b as major HCV genotypes circulating in blood donors in the Tuban city of East Java. This result may contribute in a better medical management towards HCV carriers. Keywords: Genotypes, Hepatitis C virus, blood donors, phylogenetic tree INTRODUCTION The global incident of hepatitis C Virus (HCV) infections increased rapidly over the years. Approximately 170 million of world populations are chronically infected with HCV and it can lead to 350,000 deaths per year (European Association for Study of Liver, 2015). Based on the World Health Organization data, there are 3 to 4 million new HCV infections occurring each year (WHO, 2017). HCV is categorized as a single stranded RNA virus that belongs to the genus Hepacivirus, a member of the family Flaviviridae (Choo et al., 1991). According to genetic diversity, HCV is classified into seven distinct genotypes and over 70 different subtypes broadly distributed worldwide (El-Shamy et al., 2014; Smith et al., 2014). Remarkably, those HCV genotypes and subtypes are distinct geographically and thus having their own risk group. The predominant genotypes within the United States, Europe, Australia, and East Asia (Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, and China) are 1, 2, and 3. Genotype 4 is largely enclosed to the Middle East, Egypt, and Central Africa, whereas genotypes 5 and 6 are found mostly in South Africa and Southeast Asia, respectively (Simmond, 1997). The wide variety of HCV genetic profiles is the main advantage for this virus to be resistant to many combinations of antiviral drugs. Previous studies revealed that some specific HCV genotypes might respond better to the antiviral treatments (Holland-Staley et al., 2002) and there is a correlation between the genotype diversities and the risk progress of HCV infections to be hepatocellular carcinoma development (EL-Serag, 2012). Previous studies indicated that HCV infection represents over 70% of post-transfusion hepatitis C (PTHC), and is one of the causes of chronic liver disease, which frequently results in liver cirrhosis (LC), liver failure and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) within 20 to 30 years following infection (Gower et al., 2014; Bennett et al.,