Abstract
Hepatitis is a significant disease of the liver caused by different genotypes of hepatitis B virus. Neonates delivered of HBsAg and HBeAg positive mothers are most susceptible. The sequelae of infection and prognosis vary with the age of patient infected and the genotype (A-J) of the virus involved. These genotypes have 7.5 to 8% difference in their genomic sequences. This study was aimed at identifying the genotypes among hepatitis B surface antigen positive individuals. Four hundred and ten blood samples were randomly collected in a hospital-based cross sectional study. Sera samples were obtained for qualitative identification of the serological markers of hepatitis B virus (HBsAg, Anti-HBs, HBeAg, Anti-HBe and Anti-HBc) using rapid chromatographic immunoassays test kit (Qingdao Hightop Biotech Co., China). However, 34 presumptive hepatitis B surface antigen positive samples were assayed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using universal outer primer for identification of all HBV genotypes. Nested polymerase chain reaction assay was performed to determine genotype composition of the positive samples. The outcome of the molecular analysis of the 34 positive samples showed that 9 (26.5%) were positive comprising only 2 genotypes (B and E) which presented in mixed infections. Hepatitis B virus genotypes B and E were identified. The identification of genotype E corroborates reports of its existence in the West African region. However, the identification of genotype B in West Africa region is novel. Key words: Hepatitis B virus (HBV), Nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR), genotype, Borno, Nigeria.
Highlights
Hepatitis is a disease of public health importance all over the world
Upon attachment and entry into the nucleus, the deoxynucleic acid (DNA) molecule of the virion is changed into a covalently closed circular DNA, which serves as a template for initiation of replication
Genotypespecific primers were designed according to the nucleotide sequences in the region between the pre-S1 and S gene that were conserved within an Hepatitis B virus (HBV) genotype but had poor homology with other genotypes
Summary
Hepatitis is a disease of public health importance all over the world. Munshi et al (2017) reported that a third of world population suffer from either acute or chronic hepatitis. According to Schweitzer et al (2015) and WHO (2017), a quarter of a billion people in the world suffer from chronic hepatitis which results in approximately 887,000 deaths annually. Hepatitis B virus (HBV) belongs to the genus. Orthohepadnavirus of the family Hepadnaviridae and is a significant aetiology of viral hepatitis (Chang, 2014).
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