Hepatitis B virus genotypes in acute and fulminant hepatitis patients from north India using two different molecular genotyping approaches

Data from India on hepatitis B virus (HBV) genotype related differences in clinical progression and outcome of acute and fulminant hepatitis B are limited. Sera from patients with acute hepatitis B (AHB) (n = 80), fulminant hepatitis B (FHB) (n = 40) and asymptomatic HBsAg carriers (ASC) (n = 40) were tested for HBV genotype using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) and type-specific primers-based PCR (TSP-PCR). The genotype distribution for 160 patients with HBV related hepatitis/carriers were as follows: A, 3/80 (3.7%) in AHB, 2/40 (5%) in FHB and 7/40 (17.5%) in ASC; D, 77/80 (96.2%) in AHB, 38/40 (95%) in FHB and 33/40 (82.5%) in ASC. C, 0; B, 0; E, 0; F, 0 (p < 0.01, genotype D versus A). Compared with genotype D, genotype A patients had no significant clinical or biochemical differences (p > 0.05). HBV genotypes A and D were found to be prevalent in patients with HBV related acute and fulminant hepatitis from New Delhi, India. Genotype D was the dominant genotype prevalent in all patient categories while genotype A was solely responsible for AHB leading to chronic hepatitis B in 3.7% of the cases from this region.