title: Genetic relatedness of Cuban HAV wild-type isolates.
abstract: Knowledge of the nucleotide sequence in the region of the putative VP1/2A junction of the Hepatitis A virus (HAV) genome has enabled differentiation of HAV strains and their classification into seven genotypes, in some of which sub-genotypes A and B can be defined. A 168 base segment encompassing the putative VP1/2A junction of 27 clinical wild-type isolates of HAV from Cuba was amplified by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and then sequenced. The Cuban isolates are clustered within sub-genotype IA. A single amino acid substitution, which does not correspond with any of the reported changes for other strains, was observed. A new sub-genotype variant is therefore postulated. This study provides new data on the genetic relatedness of HAVs from Cuba and on the distribution of sub-genotype IA in the Caribbean area.
authors.affiliation: Department of Virology and Epidemiology of Virus Diseases, Hygiene Institute, University of Tuebingen, Germany. belkis.diaz-mendiondo@med.uni-tuebingen.de
authors.forename: B I
authors.initials: BI
authors.lastname: Diaz
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Sariol
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Normann
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rodríguez
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Flehmig
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D003462:Cuba / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D016679:Genome, Viral; D006506:Hepatitis A / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology*; D017957:Hepatitis A Virus, Human / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017720:Molecular Epidemiology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D020539:Sequence Analysis, Protein
chemical_list: D012367:RNA, Viral