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Variations in nucleotide sequence of the 5′ untranslated region of hepatitis C viruses

The nucleotide sequence of the 5′ untranslated region of hepatitis C viruses (HCV) has been shown to be conserved. In contrast, this study detected in the region of several HCV isolates more sequence variation than hitherto expected. The nucleotide sequences of the 5′ untranslated region of these isolates differ significantly from that of the prototype but are very similar to each other. This study considers these isolates as belonging to the same type of HCV. Among 240 HCV RNA polymerase chain reaction positive specimens that were examined, seven of them belong to this type. The results suggest that the HCV variants detected represent a different type of HCV and that they are responsible for approximately 3% of HCV infections in this part of the United States.