Genotype A2/adw2 Strain of Hepatitis B Virus in Turkey: A Case Report

Background and aims: previous studies have demonstrated the dominance of genotype d subtype ayw in patients with hepatitis b virus infection in turkey. the aim of the present study is to report, for the first time, genotype a2 subtype adw2 of hepatitis b virus in a patient who is an inactive hepatitis b carrier in turkey.materials and methods: hepatitis b virus dna isolated from the serum sample was amplified by polymerase chain reaction. the polymerase gene segment of the hepatitis b virus was directly sequenced. a distance matrix/upgma comparison was used for phylogenetic analysis, and the genotype of the virus was identified accordingly. the subgenotype and subtype of hepatitis b virus were also detected.results: the genotyping of the patient revealed that the isolated hepatitis b virus was genotype a2/adw2.discussion: the subtype is inconsistent with the previous data from turkey; specifically, the identification of the a2/adw2subtype of the hepatitis b virus in an inactive carrier is the first such case in turkey. this finding suggests that the transmission of another genotype besides genotype d subtype ayw of the hepatitis b virus is possible in turkey.