title: Molecular epidemiology of hepatitis A virus in patients in the Ahwaz region of Iran.
abstract: Hepatitis A virus (HAV) is one of the etiologic agents of acute viral hepatitis, an important public health problem worldwide. The aim of this study was to investigate the genetic diversity of HAV in Southwest Iran (Ahwaz). A total of 59 sera were collected from acutely ill patients with anti-HAV IgM antibodies during 2009 and 2010 were tested also by RT-PCR targeting the 5' NCR for molecular diagnosis and examined in the VP1-2A and VP3-VP1 regions for genotyping. Twelve (20%) patients were detected VP1-2A by RT-PCR and 10 patients had VP3-VP1. The resulting amplicons were sequenced for genotype identification. All HAV strains were identified as subgenotype IB. Phylogenetic analysis revealed an extensive genetic heterogeneity among the strains. Seven hundred sixty-five S→F and 788 K→R amino acid substitutions in IRI49 isolate were found. It is concluded that subgenotype 1b is the sole genotype HAV in this region.
authors.affiliation: Infectious and Tropical Disease Research Center, Ahwaz Jondi-Shapoor University of Medical Sciences, Ahwaz, Iran. nejati_ahmad@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Ahmad
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nejati
authors.forename: Manochehr
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Makvandi
authors.forename: Alireza
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Samarbafzadeh
authors.forename: Niloofar
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Neisi
authors.forename: Hamid
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Moradzadegan
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D005260:Female; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006506:Hepatitis A / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology*; D017957:Hepatitis A Virus, Human / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D017720:Molecular Epidemiology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D012367:RNA, Viral; D014764:Viral Proteins