Hepatitis B virus genotype E detected in Brazil in an African patient who is a frequent traveler
Braz. j. med. biol. res
;
40(12): 1689-1692, Dec. 2007. ilus
Article
in English
| LILACS
| ID: lil-466744
ABSTRACT
Genotype E of hepatitis B virus (HBV) has not been described in Brazil and is found mainly in Africa. Genotype A is the most prevalent in Brazil, and genotypes B, C, D, and F have already been reported. We report here an HBV genotype E-infected patient and some characterization of surface (S) protein, DNA polymerase (P) and precore/core (preC/C) coding regions based on the viral genome. The patient is a 31-year-old black man with chronic hepatitis B who was born and raised in Angola. He has been followed by a hepatologist in São Paulo, Brazil, since November 2003, and he is a frequent traveler to Latin America, Africa, and Europe. In 2003, he was diagnosed with HBV infection and started treatment with lamivudine with the later addition of adefovir dipivoxil. No known risk factor was identified. Serologically, he is HBsAg and anti-HBe positive, but HBeAg and anti-HBs negative. DNA sequence analysis of the S/P region confirmed that this patient is infected with genotype E, subtype ayw4. The preC/C region showed G1896A and G1899A mutations but no mutations in the basal core promoter. Nucleotide substitutions common in genotype E were also observed (C1772, T1858 and A1757). Although this is not an autochthonous case and there is no evidence of further spread, the description of this case in Brazil highlights the current risk of viral genotypes spreading with unprecedented speed due to constant travel around the world.
Full text:
Available
Index:
LILACS (Americas)
Main subject:
Travel
/
Hepatitis B virus
/
Hepatitis B, Chronic
Type of study:
Diagnostic study
/
Prognostic study
/
Risk factors
Limits:
Adult
/
Humans
/
Male
Country/Region as subject:
Africa
/
South America
/
Brazil
Language:
English
Journal:
Braz. j. med. biol. res
Journal subject:
Biology
/
Medicine
Year:
2007
Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Brazil
Institution/Affiliation country:
Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein/BR
/
Universidade de São Paulo/BR
Similar
MEDLINE
...
LILACS
LIS