Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 25, 2026

Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction-Based Detection and Quantification of Hepatitis B Virus DNA
Published on: December 15, 2023
Molecular genetic diversity of hepatitis B virus in Kenya
Joseph Mwangi1, Zipporah Nganga, Elijah Songok
1Centre for Virus Research, Kenya Medical Research Institute, Nairobi, Kenya. jmwangi@kemri.org
Abstract:
Eight genotypes of hepatitis B virus (A-H) and subgenotypes have been recognized worldwide. However, there is limited information on prevalent genotypes in many countries in Africa. This study was undertaken to determine the hepatitis B virus (HBV) genotypes in Kenya. Seropositive HBV blood samples from a blood donor setting were used in the study. HBV genotypes were determined in 52 nucleic acid-positive samples using specific primer in a nested PCR and sequencing employed in the HBV genotyping. This study shows presence of HBV variants with genotypes A (88%), E (8%) and D (4%). In conclusion, we found that HBV genotype A is the most predominant genotype in Kenya with both subgenotype A1 and A2 present. Genotype D and E are also present in our population. This demonstrates that there could be a high genetic diversity of HBV in Kenya.
Related Concept Videos
Hepatitis
Viral Hepatitis I: Introduction
Viral Mutations

