A study on seroprevalence of anti-HAV IgG in adults of 4 cities in China / 中华肝脏病杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the seroprevalence of anti-HAV IgG in adults of 4 cities in China.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Serum samples were collected from 2390 local residents aged between 20 to 88 years from Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan and Guangzhou. The anti-HAV IgG in sera was detected with a microparticle enzyme immunoassay (MEIA).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The anti-HAV IgG seroprevalence in female of 30 to 39 years in Beijing (64.58%, 62/96) was higher than that in male (45.57% 36/79)) (x(2) = 6.358, P = 0.012). It increased with age in adults of Beijing and Guangzhou. The rates were 54.22 % (90/166), 56.00% (98/175) and 67.18% (88/131) for the 20-, 30- and 40-49 age groups in Beijing (x(2) = 4.76, P = 0.03); and 52.83% (56/106), 52.50% (63/120), 82.46% (94/114), 89.80% (88/98) and 96.77% (60/62) for the 20-, 30-, 40-, 50- and 60-88 age groups in Guangzhou, respectively (x(2) = 72.58, P less than 0.01). This trend was not found in Shanghai and Wuhan (x2 = 0.96, 2.99; P = 0.33, 0.08 respectively). The seroprevalence rates of anti-HAV IgG in the 20 to 39 age group of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Wuhan were 55.13% (188/341), 63.93% (429/671), 52.65% (119/226) and 78.37% (308/393), respectively.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The seroprevalence rates of anti-HAV IgG in young adults aged 20 to 39 years of the four cities are relatively low, and HAV vaccination should be suggested for the susceptible population of this age group in China.</p>

Establishment of a nested PCR to identify hepatitis B virus genotypes A-D and subgenotypes B1, B2, C1 and C2 / 中华流行病学杂志

Objective To establish a hepatitis B virus (HBV) nested PCR (nPCR) for detection of genotypes A-D and subgenotypes B1,B2, C1 and C2. Methods The entire HBV nucleotide sequences of genotypes A-H retrieved from GenBank were compared and analyzed by DNAStar software. The PCR primers were designed by Primer Premier 5.0 software,and the nPCR for genotyping HBV/A-D as well as subgenotyping B1, B2,C1 and C2 were established. There were 3 steps in the process:step 1 for genotypes B, D and subgenotypes C1, C2 with the amplification of Mix A; step 2 for genotype A with the amplification of Mix B; step 3 for subgenotypes B1 and B2 with the amplification of Mix C in the second-ound PCR, based on the first-round amplification procedure. A total of 68 serum samples from patients with chronic HBV infection were detected by nPCR. 15 of 68 sera were selected randomly and their PCR products were directly sequenced to confirm the accuracy of the method. Results Among 68 serum samples of patients with chronic HBV infection detected by the nPCR, 23.53% (16/68) were infected with B2, 11.76% (8/68) with C1,48.53% (33/68) with C2,1.47% (1/68) with D,11.76% (8/68) with B2C2 mix strains,1.47% (1/68) with C2D mix strains and 1.47% (1/68) with B2/C1/D mix strains. The sequencing analysis of the 15 serum samples had the same results as detected by nPCR. Conclusion nPCR is a simple,rapid method and able to detect genotypes A-D and subgenotypes B1 ,B2 ,C1 and C2 subtypes of HBV with both high sensitivity and specificity.