Molecular epidemiology of hepatitis B virus in Spain: Identification of viral genotypes and prediction of antigenic subtypes by limited sequencing

Abstract

The hepatitis B virus (HBV) genotypes were studied by a line probe assay (LiPA) and by direct sequencing of a 339 nucleotide fragment from the S region of the viral genome in samples from 269 carriers living in Spain, either native to Spain (231) or immigrants from Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe (38). The sequences were also used to predict the HBV surface antigen (HBsAg) subtype on the basis of the amino acids specified at selected positions of the HBsAg molecule. Agreement between the two genotyping methods was found in most cases (98.1%) and a HBV genotype could be assigned to all samples. The viral groups D/ayw2 (30.1%), D/ayw3 (28.6%), and A/adw2 (21.2%) were prevalent, with an additional participation of the groups D/ayw4 (4.8%), F/adw4q- (1.9%), A/ayw1 (1.9%), and D/adw3 (0.7%), all of them present among the autochthonous carriers. Strains from genotypes B and C were found exclusively among Chinese immigrants. Genotype E strains were found in immigrants from Central Africa and in one patient native of Spain. Point mutations leading to amino acid changes of residues involved in the expression of the HBsAg subtype determinants were found in 12 samples (4.5%). Some mutations would predict the putative novel genotype-subtype associations A/adw4q+, A/ayr, D/ayr, and E/ayw1, while others would suggest the loss of subtype-specific determinants. The finding of HBV strains characteristic for Africa among the autochthonous carriers confirms the emergence of African HBV strains in Spain.

Surveillance and epidemiology of hepatitis B and C in Europe – a review

“…For example, genotype A seems to be the prevailing one in Belgium [10], Iceland [11], the Netherlands [12], and Poland [13], whereas genotype D is dominant in northern Italy [14] and Spain [15]. Also, genotypes B and C which are common in Asian countries, genotype E which occurs in Western Africa, and genotypes F and G which are the main genotypes found in South and Central America, respectively, have been detected in Europe.…”

“…Also, genotypes B and C which are common in Asian countries, genotype E which occurs in Western Africa, and genotypes F and G which are the main genotypes found in South and Central America, respectively, have been detected in Europe. The prevalence rates of the different genotypes vary both between and within individual countries, depending on the populations at risk and their ethnic and geographical origins [9,15,16]. For example, in 1999-2004 in south-western France, among HBsAg positive patients, genotype A was most frequent (51%) followed by genotype D (26%) [16] while in another study which included patients from Paris and south-east region of France, the proportion of genotypes D and A were 27% and 24%, respectively [17].…”

Frequency of hepatitis B virus ‘a’ determinant variants in unselected Spanish chronic carriers

“…The HBV genotype was identified by phylogenetic analysis and the HBsAg subtype was predicted from the amino-acid sequence as described elsewhere [Echevarria et al, 2005].…”

Estudios de epidemiología molecular en población inmigrante en España

“…Para los restantes patógenos considerados en los trabajos analizados, los objetivos más frecuentes en estudio fueron el genotipado, en el caso de los virus de la hepatitis B [25][26][27] , de la hepatitis E 7 y el HTLV 10 y de Phleboteomus sergenti 14 y el estudio de mutaciones de resistencia, en S. aureus 28,29 . El único estudio con el virus de la rubeola 30 se centró en el análisis de un brote y el correspondiente a las filariasis 15 en el desarrollo de un diagnóstico molecular para el nematodo causante de la infección.…”