Hepatitis B virus genotype E variability in Africa
Abstract Background In sub-Saharan Africa, genotype E is the predominant genotype throughout a vast region spanning from Senegal to Namibia and extending to the Central African Republic in the East. Despite its wide geographic distribution and the high prevalence throughout this genotype E crescent,...
Saved in:
Published in | Journal of clinical virology Vol. 43; no. 4; pp. 376 - 380 |
---|---|
Main Authors | , , |
Format | Journal Article Conference Proceeding |
Language | English |
Published |
Amsterdam
Elsevier B.V
01.12.2008
Elsevier |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
Cover
Loading…
Summary: | Abstract Background In sub-Saharan Africa, genotype E is the predominant genotype throughout a vast region spanning from Senegal to Namibia and extending to the Central African Republic in the East. Despite its wide geographic distribution and the high prevalence throughout this genotype E crescent, this genotype has a very low genetic diversity. Objectives Here we review our current understanding of genotype E reanalysing all currently available sequences of the S gene and the complete genome. Results Phylogenetic analysis of the complete genome sequences confirmed a previously suggested South-West/Central African cluster and several lineages of West African sequences. The overall mean genetic distance was 1.71%, with the more Southern countries of the genotype E crescent exhibiting lower distances than the Northern countries. Conclusions Genotype E seems to have a longer natural history in the Northern part of the genotype E crescent than in the Southern countries. As genotype E is essentially absent from the Americas despite the Afro-American slave trade until at least the beginning of the 19th century, genotype E strains may have been introduced into the general African population only within the past 200 years. How the virus may have spread throughout the genotype E crescent warrants further investigation. |
---|---|
Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 ObjectType-Article-2 ObjectType-Feature-3 ObjectType-Review-1 |
ISSN: | 1386-6532 1873-5967 |
DOI: | 10.1016/j.jcv.2008.08.018 |