A team of Indian scientists has succeeded in mapping the genome of a Hepatitis C virus (HCV) specific to India. This is the first genome sequencing of any pathogen in the country. Prof. Ramareddy V Guntaka, a retro virologist in the University of Tennessee in USA, and his associates Shesheer Kumar, Kalyani Kota and Dr. Venkataramana of Shantha Biotechnics and Dr. M N Khaja of Deccan School of Medical Sciences (DCMS), Hyderabad were involved in the project.

However, the sequencing has opened up a possibility to go for further studies, which could result in the development of a new vaccine, Dr. Guntaka said.

Addressing a press conference here, Dr. Guntaka said that the sequenced Indian strain was submitted to the US based Genebank on August 16. The official announcement in this regard was made at New Delhi last week. He said that there are at least 20 different strains of HCV across the world and most of them have been sequenced. The Indian strain, however, was not mapped so far.

Describing the virus as "stealth virus" due to its silent nature of action, he said that an estimated 25 million Indians were carrying it. One-fifth of the carriers is likely to develop complications like liver cirrhosis or cancer.

The sequenced Indian strain resembles the Japanese version and it would take another six months to determine the extent of gene variation of the Indian strain. The development and success of the HCV vaccine will depend upon how much variation of the virus manifested among the people, he said.