HCV genotyping may be useful to determine the real diffusion of HCV from HCV chronic patients to their household relatives

One hundred and eighty-five household relatives of 77 patients with chronic hepatitis C and persistent viral replication (54 males and 23 females) were studied for HCV markers and possible risk factors of HCV transmission during a period of 3 years of follow-up. Overall household HCV circulation was low (3.24%). The genotype analysis in 6 HCV RNA positive couples showed the same viral subtype in four of them (type 2 in three and type 1b in one); the genotype was different in the other two couples, whose members had different epidemiologic risk factors.