The
hepatitis B virus (HBV) is among the leading causes of
chronic hepatitis,
cirrhosis and
hepatocellular carcinoma. In
Brazil,
genotype A is the most frequent, followed by
genotypes D and F.
Genotypes B and C are found in
Brazil exclusively among
Asian patients and their descendants. The aim of this study was to sequence the entire HBV
genome of a Caucasian
patient infected with HBV/C2 and to infer the origin of the
virus based on sequencing
analysis. The sequence of this Brazilian isolate was grouped with four other sequences described in
China. The sequence of this
patient is the first complete
genome of HBV/C2 reported in
Brazil.