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A new Hepatitis B virus subgenotype D6 in Tunisian blood donors

¹ Dept Haematology University of Cambridge;
² Tunisian National Blood Centre

³ E-mail: bhmm2{at}cam.ac.uk

Tunisia is a medium epidemic country for Hepatitis B virus (HBV). This study characterises for the first time full genome HBV strains from Tunisia. Viral load quantification and phylogenetic analyses of full genome or pre-S/S sequences were performed on 196 HBsAg+ plasma samples from Tunisian blood donors. The median viral load was 64.65 IU/ml (range <5 – 7.7x10E+8 IU/ml) and 89% of samples had viral loads below 10,000 IU/ml. Fifty-nine strains formed a new subgenotype D6, 41 strains clustered in subgenotype D1, 7 strains in subgenotype A2 and 1 strain in genotype C. The new subgenotype D6 was defined by maximum Bayesian posterior probability, a genetic divergence from other HBV/D subgenotypes by >4% and a stronger HBV/E signal in the X to core genes than subgenotype D1. In conclusion, HBV/D is dominant in asymptomatic Tunisian HBsAg carriers and a new subgenotype, D6, was the most common subgenotype found in this population.

Received 19 December 2008; accepted 26 March 2009.

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