Full genome sequence of three isolates of hepatitis C virus subtype 4b from Portugal

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 4 has been previously shown to be prevalent in central Africa, the Middle East and, more recently, with increasing numbers in western and southern Europe. In this study, the complete genomes of three different isolates from Portugal (P212, P245 and P026) were sequenced. The open reading frame of these strains has a total of 9,036, 9,036 and 9,033 nt, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis of the complete genome revealed that these sequences grouped within genotype 4 but branched separately from the confirmed subtypes a, d, f and k. When analyzing the partial nucleotide sequence of NS5B and core, they clustered with a provisional HCV-4b sequence. Based on the data presented in this paper, we propose that these three isolates are full genome representatives of the HCV subtype 4b.