Infección por el virus de la hepatitis B en individuos con factores de exposición en Quibdó y Apartadó, Colombia Hepatitis B Infections in Individuals with Exposure Factors in Quibdo and Apartado, Colombia

Introduction: Colombia has a varied geographical pattern of prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections with regions of high, moderate and low prevalences. Objective: The objective of this study was to identify cases of HBV infection and characterize viral genoty- pes in population with factors of exposure in the cities of Quibdo and Apartado, Colombia. Materials and Methods: The study population included 768 asymptomatic individuals with factors of expo- sure to HBV infections. An HBV surface antigen (HBsAg) rapid detection test was the fi rst test used. Samples from individuals who tested positive were tested with ELISA to confi rm the diagnosis and with PCR to detect the HBV genome. Viral genotypes were determined by sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. Results: Seventeen individuals (17/768, 2.2%) were diagnosed with HBV infections by both the Rapid Test and Elisa. Phylogenetic analyses allowed identifi cation of genotypes F (F3 and Subgenotype F1a) and A in the samples. Conclusions: We report for the fi rst time the presence of the F1a subgenotype in Colombia and confi rme the presence of subgenotype F3 and genotype A.