Subgenotype D3 of the hepatitis B virus is common in a sample from southern Brazil
Keywords:
Genotype, Hepatitis B Virus, PCRAbstract
Introduction: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is widespread and is considered a major health problem worldwide. HBV is classified into genotypes and subgenotypes. HBV genotype D (HBV-D) has been detected all over the world with high prevalence in some specific regions of Europe and South America. In Brazil, this genotype is very common in the South region and its introduction and dissemination have been associated with European immigration. Objective: To determine the frequencies of hepatitis B virus (HBV) genotypes/subgenotypes in a sample of patients diagnosed with hepatitis B in southern Brazil. Method: HBV-positive patients from four cities in Rio Grande do Sul were evaluated. The detection of HBV genotypes and subgenotypes was performed by amplification of the 590 bp fragment of the reverse transcriptase region and HBsAg using the nested PCR technique. After that, the fragments were sequenced by the Sanger method and the sequences were aligned with reference sequences by the MAFFT method and classified by the Neighbor-Joining method.
Results: Genotype D was predominant (n = 44; 91.7%). Genotype A was detected in four samples (8.3%). With regard to the subgenotypes, the following frequencies
were observed: D2 (n = 7; 14.6%), D3 (n = 37; 77.1%), A1 (n = 3; 6.2%) and A2 (n = 1; 2.1%). Conclusion: The results found can be explained by the European colonization in Southern Brazil, since the D genotype (mainly the D3 subgenotype)
is frequently detected in Southern Europe.
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