Hepatitis B Virus Genotype D Isolates Circulating in Chapecó, Southern Brazil, Originate from Italy.
Hepatitis B virus genotype A1 (HBV/A1), of African origin, is the most prevalent genotype in Brazil, while HBV/F predominates in the other South American countries. However, HBV/D is the most common in the three states of southern Brazil, where 'islands' of elevated prevalence, as Chapecó and other cities, have been described. In this study, 202 HBV chronic carriers attending in 2013 the viral hepatitis ambulatory of Chapecó, were investigated. In comparison with previous studies performed in the same ambulatory, a rapid aging of the HBV infected population was observed (mean age of the newly diagnosed patients increasing from 29.9 ± 10.3 years in 1996 to 44.4 ± 13.3 years in 2013), probably due to a singular vaccination schedule at Chapecó that included not only children but also adolescents. Phylogenetic and BLAST analyses (S region) classified 91 HBV isolates into genotypes A (n = 3) and D (n = 88). The majority of HBV/D isolates were closely related to D3 sequences. To understand the reasons for the absence or near absence of genotypes A and F, and how HBV/D was introduced in the south of Brazil, HBV/D infected patients were inquired about their genealogical and geographical origins. Forty-three (52%) patients have their four grandparents of Italian origin, vs. seven (8%) who have their four grandparents of Brazilian origin. At all, 65 out of 83 (78%) patients had at least one grandparent originating from Italy. Taking into consideration the fact that Italy is one of the few countries where subgenotype D3 is predominant, the results strongly suggested that HBV/D was introduced in Brazil through Italian immigration which culminated between 1870 and 1920.
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Celular e Molecular, Centro de Biotecnologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil; Centro de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, Fundação Estadual de Produção e Pesquisa em Saúde, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Carolina Souza
CS
Gusatti
Centro de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, Fundação Estadual de Produção e Pesquisa em Saúde, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Cintia
C
Costi
Centro de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, Fundação Estadual de Produção e Pesquisa em Saúde, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Maria Laura
ML
Halon
Centro de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, Fundação Estadual de Produção e Pesquisa em Saúde, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Tarciana
T
Grandi
Setor de Hepatites Virais, Secretaria Municipal de Saúde, Chapecó, Brazil.
Arlete Ferrari Rech
AF
Medeiros
Centro de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, Fundação Estadual de Produção e Pesquisa em Saúde, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Cláudia Maria Dornelles
CM
Silva
Laboratório de Virologia Molecular, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Selma Andrade
SA
Gomes
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Celular e Molecular Aplicada à Saúde, Universidade Luterana do Brasil, Canoas, Brazil.
Marcia Susana Nunes
MS
Silva
Laboratório de Virologia Molecular, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Christian
C
Niel
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Celular e Molecular, Centro de Biotecnologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil; Centro de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, Fundação Estadual de Produção e Pesquisa em Saúde, Porto Alegre, Brazil; Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Celular e Molecular Aplicada à Saúde, Universidade Luterana do Brasil, Canoas, Brazil.
Maria Lucia Rosa
ML
Rossetti
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001938:Brazil; D004641:Emigration and Immigration; D005838:Genotype; D006515:Hepatitis B virus / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D019694:Hepatitis B, Chronic / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000635:transmission; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008875:Middle Aged; D010802:Phylogeny