Letters To The Editor
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World J Gastroenterol. Dec 14, 2014; 20(46): 17690-17692
Published online Dec 14, 2014. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v20.i46.17690
Diagnostically untypable hepatitis C virus variants: It is time to resolve the problem
Muhammad Sohail Afzal, Muhammad Yousaf Khan, Muhammad Ammar, Sadia Anjum, Najm us Sahar Sadaf Zaidi
Muhammad Sohail Afzal, Sadia Anjum, Najm us Sahar Sadaf Zaidi, Atta Ur Rahman School of Applied Biosciences, National University of Science and Technology, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan
Muhammad Yousaf Khan, Muhammad Ammar, Genomic Research Labs and Diagnostics Center, Rawalpindi 46000, Pakistan
Author contributions: Afzal MS, Khan MY, Ammar M contributed to the conception and design of the study, acquisition, analysis and interpretation of data; Afzal MS, Anjum S contributed to drafting the article; Afzal MS, Zaidi NSS revised the manuscript; all authors have approved the final version of the article.
Correspondence to: Muhammad Sohail Afzal, PhD, Atta Ur Rahman School of Applied Biosciences, National University of Science and Technology, Sector-H-12, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan. sohail.ncvi@gmail.com
Telephone: +92-321-5244808 Fax: + 92-51-90856122
Received: July 6, 2014
Revised: August 10, 2014
Accepted: September 12, 2014
Published online: December 14, 2014
Core Tip

Core tip: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a major health issue in Pakistan. Accurate HCV genotyping is very critical for the treatment of a patient because the duration and efficacy of standard antiviral therapy depends on viral genotype. We observed a large proportion (15.6%) of untypable HCV isolates during routine diagnostic. As HCV genotype information is mandatory prior to standard interferon ribavirin therapy, it is very important to be clear about the viral genotype. It is highly needed that the mystery of diagnostically untypable HCV variants in Pakistan should be resolved on priority basis to insure the proper treatment of the patients.