The patterns of Hepatitis B virus genotypes and variants

Abstract

Introduction: HBsAg, the most widely used marker for detecting current hepatitis B infection, is detected by kits using an antibody to HBsAg. HBsAg is the first serologic marker to appear, although HBV DNA may be detected slightly earlier. HBsAg usually appears 1 to 2 months after infection and before the onset of clinical illness and is the last protein marker to disappear. HBV DNA replication is slower than that of HCV; doubling time averages 2 to 3 days.HBV replication persists throughout the whole course of chronic HBV infection. Material and methods: In the present study, a total of 78 cases were included. Among all 53 cases were positive for the HBV screening test. This study was carried out at the Microbiology section of Central Laboratory (a NABH 2012 accredited laboratory), Shri Mahant Indiresh Hospital and Central Molecular Research Laboratory (CMRL) [a BSL-III laboratory], Shri Guru Ram Rai Institute of Medical and Health Sciences (SGRRIMHS), Patel Nagar, Dehradun, Uttarakhand state. The duration of the study was over a period of two years.Result: The result of this study revealed that 53.48% cases were found with genotype D as compare to genotype A(23.33%),B(11.62%),C(4.65%),D(53.48%),E(4.65%) & F(2.33%).Conclusion: This study concludes that HBV genotype D is the most prevalent one, followed by genotype A in northern India, and a very rare genotype F is also found.