A polymerase chain reaction-based assay to identify genotype F of hepatitis B virus.
We have developed a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay which distinguishes genotype F from the other genotypes of hepatitis B virus (HBV). The method was used to characterize HBV strains isolated in urban areas of the Brazilian Amazon. DNA was amplified in 54 of a total of 78 HBsAg-positive serum samples, using universal, non-genotype-specific primers. Only 4 (7.4%) were identified as genotype F by our genotype-specific PCR assay. This proportion is notably lower than that previously reported in Argentina, Venezuela, Peru, and Central America.
Moraes
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Departamento de Virologia, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, FIOCRUZ, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil.
Niel
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Gomes
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SA
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001938:Brazil; D005784:Gene Amplification; D005838:Genotype; D006515:Hepatitis B virus / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D014505:Urban Population