Distribution of HBV subgenotype in Guangdong province of China

Objective To investigate the distribution of HBV genotype, especially HBV subgenotype in Guangdong province. Methods Serum samples from 417 patients with chronic HBV infection were included in this study. All samples were from patients in Guangdong province. The genotypes and subgenotypes of all samples were determined with nucleotide sequence analysis or polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). Results In Guangdong province, the most prevalent HBV genotypes are B and C. All genotype B strains belong to subgenotype Ba and subgenotype Bj was not found. For genotype C, two subgenotypes: C1 and C2 were identified. C1 accounted for 63% and C2 accounted for 37% of all HBV genotype C infected patients. Conclusion In Guangdong province, the prevalence of HBV subgenotypes Ba and C1 were more often than C2, subgenotype Bj was not found.