Multipoint LOD scores (a, b) and information content (%) (c, d) for the MS and the SNPs chromosome 3 (a, c) and chromosome 5 (b, d) regions for the affected-only strategy (MLB-binary) and the affected and unaffected strategy (MLB-categorical)

<p><b>Copyright information:</b></p><p>Taken from "Inclusion of unaffected sibs increases power in model-free linkage analysis of a behavioral trait"</p><p></p><p>BMC Genetics 2005;6(Suppl 1):S22-S22.</p><p>Published online 30 Dec 2005</p><p>PMCID:PMC1866764.</p><p></p> The vertical lines on the x-axes of 1 c and 1 d are for the MS (black) and SNPs (gray) marker position. LOD and information content are provided at positions corresponding to MS and SNPs

SNPs genotyped in the IL28B genomic region and their association with spontaneous clearance.

<p>A. The top panel shows the IL28B genomic region bounded by rs958039 and rs576832, its position on chromosome 19 (39,730,301–39,759,282 base pairs), and the respective positions of the genotyped SNPs. The bottom panel shows the frequencies of the minor allele for each SNP in the European and Egyptian populations. European frequencies are estimated from the CEU data from Hapmap and the 1000 Genomes project. Egyptian frequencies are estimated from the population from the overall sample studied here and separately for the two groups of individuals (HCV clearance and HCV persistence). Odds ratio for HCV clearance (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI 95%), together with P-values for univariate tests with the additive genetic model are also shown for each SNP. B. Proportion of spontaneous clearance as a function of genotype at SNPs rs12979860 and rs8103142.</p

A Novel Method to Identify Routes of Hepatitis C Virus Transmission

<div><p>Background</p><p>We propose a new approach based on genetic distances among viral strains to infer about risk exposures and location of transmission at population level.</p><p>Methods</p><p>We re-analysed 133 viral sequences obtained during a cross-sectional survey of 4020 subjects living in a hepatitis C virus (HCV) endemic area in 2002. A permutation test was used to analyze the correlation between matrices of genetic distances in the NS5b region of all pairwise combinations of the 133 viral strains and exposure status (jointly exposed or not) to several potential HCV risk factors.</p><p>Results</p><p>Compared to subjects who did not share the same characteristics or iatrogenic exposures, the median Kimura genetic distances of viral strains were significantly smaller between brothers and sisters (0.031 versus 0.102, P<0.001), mother and child (0.044 versus 0.102, P<0.001), father and child (0.045 versus 0.102, P<0.001), or subjects exposed to periodontal treatment (0.084 versus 0.102, P = 0.02). Conversely, viral strains were more divergent between subjects exposed to blood transfusions (0.216 versus 0.102, P = 0.04) or tooth filling or extraction (0.108, versus 0.097, P = 0.05), suggesting acquisition of the virus outside of the village.</p><p>Conclusion</p><p>This method provided insights on where infection took place (household, village) for several socio-demographic characteristics or iatrogenic procedures, information of great relevance for targeting prevention interventions. This method may have interesting applications for virologists and epidemiologists studying transmission networks in health-care facilities or among intravenous drug users.</p></div

Pairwise NS5b HCV genetic distances among 133 subjects according to common exposure patterns.

<p>doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0086098.t002</p

Pairwise E1 HCV genetic distances among 66 subjects according to common exposure patterns.

<p>doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0086098.t003</p

Number of participants exposed to each risk factor.

<p>doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0086098.t001</p