Abstract
A New Evolutionary Model for Hepatitis C Virus Chronic Infection
Highlights
It is recognized that effective prevention and treatment of Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection requires an appreciation of the virus’ evolutionary behaviour
HCV evolves very rapidly during infection within a host, resulting in a genetically diverse viral population whose composition is determined by a combination of evolutionary processes that include mutation, replication rate, natural selection, and random genetic drift
HCV genomic sequences are obtained from peripheral blood and are summarized using two measures: the diversity of sequences sampled at any one time and the divergence among sequences sampled at different times
Summary
It is recognized that effective prevention and treatment of HCV infection requires an appreciation of the virus’ evolutionary behaviour. HCV evolves very rapidly during infection within a host, resulting in a genetically diverse viral population (often termed a ‘‘quasispecies’’) whose composition is determined by a combination of evolutionary processes that include mutation, replication rate, natural selection, and random genetic drift. Patterns of HCV genetic diversity within infected patients (if correctly analysed) should reveal information about the evolutionary dynamics of infection and could uncover links between viral evolution and the progression of clinical disease.
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