title: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) genotyping in Belgian patients with chronic HBV infection.
abstract: Several studies have demonstrated that pathogenic and therapeutic differences exist among hepatitis B virus (HBV) genotypes. Therefore, this study established the prevalence of different HBV genotypes in 128 Belgian patients with chronic HBV infection. The prevalences of genotypes A and D, and mixed genotypes A and D, were 53%, 37% and 8%, respectively, for a group of blood donors, and 54%, 31% and 9%, respectively, for a group of patients from the gastroenterology units. The results indicated that genotypes A and D are the predominant genotypes in Belgian patients with chronic HBV infection.
authors.affiliation: Scientific Institute of Public Health, Virology Section, Department of Microbiology, Brussels, Belgium. Isabel.Micalessi@iph.fgov.be
authors.forename: M I
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Micalessi
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: De Cock
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Vranckx
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001530:Belgium / Q000453:epidemiology; D001782:Blood Donors; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D006515:Hepatitis B virus / Q000235:genetics*; D019694:Hepatitis B, Chronic / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral