title: Emergence of hepatitis B virus genotype f in aligarh region of north India.
abstract: Introduction. HBV genotypes and subtypes are useful clinical and epidemiological markers. In this study prevalent HBV genotypes were assessed in relation to serological profile and clinical status. Material & Methods. 107 cases of HBV were genotyped. Detailed clinical history was elicited from them. HBsAg, HBeAg, anti-HBs, anti-HBe, and anti-HBc-IgM were assessed. HBV genotyping was performed using Kirschberg's type specific primers (TSP-PCR), heminested PCR, and Naito's monoplex PCR. Nucleotide sequencing was performed. Results. A total of 97 (91%) were genotyped following the methods of Kirschberg et al./Naito et al. Genotype D was by far the most prevalent genotype 91 (85.04%) in this region. A surprising finding was the detection of genotype F in 5 (4.67%) of our patients. Genotype A strangely was observed only in one case. In 85.7% genotype D was associated with moderate to severe liver disease, 43.9% HBeAg, and 18.7% anti-HBc-IgM positivity. Majority of genotype F (80%) was seen in mild to moderate liver disease. It was strongly associated with HBeAg 60% and 20% anti-HBc-IgM positivity. Conclusion. Emergence of genotype F in India merits further study regarding its clinical implications and treatment modalities. Knowledge about HBV genotypes can direct a clinician towards more informed management of HBV patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh 202002, India.
authors.forename: Hiba
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sami
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh 202002, India.
authors.forename: Meher
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rizvi
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh 202002, India.
authors.forename: Mohd
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Azam
authors.affiliation: Asian Institute of Gastroenterology, Hyderabad 500082, India.
authors.forename: Rathindra M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Mukherjee
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh 202002, India.
authors.forename: Indu
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Shukla
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh 202002, India.
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Ajmal
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh 202002, India.
authors.forename: Abida
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Malik