Özet:

Objective: Occult hepatitis B infection (OBI) can be characterized by the long-term persistence of HBV DNA in the liver of individuals who test negative for the hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) using the currently available assays. This study aimed to evaluate genotype, subgenotype and subtype profiles of HBVs obtained from patients with OBI. Material and Method: The study included 32 patients with OBI who were diagnosed with HBV DNA by Nested PCR method in liver biopsy samples of patients who underwent liver parenchymal biopsy due to HBsAg negative different clinic indications and 17 chronic hepatitis B patients. The MHR region of the HBV S gene was amplified using nested PCR. Sanger sequencing method was used to determine the genotype, subgenotypes and subtype/serotype of HBV. Results: In this study it was determined that the genotypes of all HBVs isolated from OBI and chronic hepatitis B patients were HBV/D, subgenotypes were respectively HBV/ D1 (75.5%), HBV/ D2 (6.1%) and HBV/D3 (18.4%), serotypes were respectively ayw2 (73.5%) and ayw3 (26.5%). Although the subgenotype of 28.1% of patients with OBI was determined as HBV/D3, none of the chronic hepatitis B patients had the HBV/D3 subgenotype. Conclusion: The potential effects of subgenotype HBV/D3 on the dynamics of viral biogenesis may be associated with OBI, characterized by low replication competence and HBsAg negativity.

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