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Hepatitis B virus genotype C prevails among chronic carriers of the virus in Korea

Si Hyun Bae1, Seung Kew Yoon, Jeong Won Jang

  • 1Department of Internal Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.

Journal of Korean Medical Science
|October 15, 2005
PubMed

Insights

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) genotype C is predominant in Korean chronic liver disease patients. This finding was consistent across asymptomatic carriers and those with advanced liver conditions like cirrhosis and cancer.

Area of Science:

  • Hepatology
  • Virology
  • Genetics

Background:

  • Hepatitis B virus (HBV) causes chronic liver disease globally and in Korea.
  • HBV is classified into genotypes with distinct geographic distributions.
  • Limited data exist on HBV genotype relevance to clinical outcomes in Korea.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the clinical features associated with HBV genotypes in Korea.
  • To determine the prevalence of HBV genotypes among different stages of chronic liver disease.

Main Methods:

  • Collected 120 serum samples from chronic HBV carriers in Korea.
  • Classified patients into asymptomatic carrier (ASC), chronic hepatitis (CH), liver cirrhosis (LC), and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
  • Determined HBV genotype using ELISA and direct sequencing of the small S gene.

Main Results:

  • HBV genotypes were determined in 105 (87.5%) samples.
  • HBV genotype C was identified in all patients across ASC, CH, LC, and HCC stages.
  • Genotypes A, B, D, E, F, and G were not detected.

Conclusions:

  • HBV genotype C is the predominant genotype among chronic carriers in Korea.
  • Genotype C prevalence is consistent irrespective of clinical stage or geographic origin within Korea.

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