title: Transmission of hepatitis B virus (HBV) genotypes among Japanese immigrants and natives in Bolivia.
abstract: Hepatitis B virus genotypes are associated with transmission pattern, virological and clinical features and outcome of the chronic infection course. HBV genotypes other than Genotype F (HBV/F) are considered a reflection of human migration into South America. A total of 487 individuals in Bolivia, including Japanese immigrants (n=287) and natives (n=200), were screened for HBV serological markers. Overall 22/487 (4.5%) of the subjects were positive for HBsAg, 217/487 (44.5%) for anti-HBc and 162/487 (33.3%) for anti-HBs. Genotypes were determinable in 22 cases by EIA, followed by sequencing and phylogenetic analysis in 17 cases. HBV genotype distribution in Japanese and Bolivians was HBV/F (4 and 8); HBV/C (5 and 3); and HBV/B (1 and 1), respectively. Phylogenetic analyses of nine complete and eight partial (HBsAg/pre-core/core region) genomes, revealed that HBV/F strains cluster with previously reported regional strains, whereas HBV/B and HBV/C strains belonged to Asian subgenotype B2 (Ba) and C2 (Ce), respectively. Japanese immigrants might have introduced HBV/B and HBV/C to natives in Bolivia, conversely, exposed to the indigenous HBV/F. This report provides evidence of an inter-communities transmission of HBV revealed by its genotypes. Further study is required to investigate peculiarities of the genotypes in different ethnic groups in Bolivia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Molecular Informative Medicine, Nagoya City University, Mizuho, Nagoya 467-8601, Japan.
authors.forename: Anis
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.forename: Yasuhito
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: Hidetsugu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Saito
authors.forename: Hirotoshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ebinuma
authors.forename: Hitoshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sekiguchi
authors.forename: Hideaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Iwama
authors.forename: Go
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wakabayashi
authors.forename: Toshio
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kamiya
authors.forename: Fuat
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Kurbanov
authors.forename: Abeer
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Elkady
authors.forename: Masashi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mizokami
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D044466:Asian People; D001838:Bolivia / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D004641:Emigration and Immigration; D004742:Enhancer Elements, Genetic; D005260:Female; D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology / Q000635:transmission* / Q000821:virology; D006511:Hepatitis B Antigens / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics; D006515:Hepatitis B virus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D010802:Phylogeny; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies; D006511:Hepatitis B Antigens