Eight Genotypes and 84 Subtypes of HCV

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The hepatitis C virus (HCV) is classified into 7 genotypes and 67 subtypes. Knowing the HCV genotype and subtype has been really important in determining the optimal treatment regimen.

A study presented at The AASLD Liver Meeting 2017 – “Identification of Novel HCV Genotype and Subtypes in Patients Treated with Sofosbuvir Based Regimens” – found 17 novel HCV subtypes and 1 novel HCV genotype, unrelated to each other and to previously described HCV subtypes, suggesting an even greater genetic diversity of HCV subtypes than previously recognized.

This brings the current total to 8 genotypes and 84 subtypes! The pangenotypic regimens of sofosbuvir/velpatasvir±voxilaprevir were highly efficacious against previously uncharacterized subtypes and the novel genotype.  This is great news!