evaluation of s gene mutations in children with maternally transmitted hepatitis b

Background and objective: since the distribution of hbv genotypes in patients with hepatitis b indicates the predominant genotypes in specific geographical area, this study aimed to investigate the prevalence of s gene mutations in high-risk children with maternal hbv in southeastern iran.materials and methods: this cross-sectional prospective study was performed from march 2019 to march 2020. we studied 26 patients infected with hepatitis b virus through vertical route. serological markers of hbv were tested for hbs ag, anti-hbs, hbe ag, anti-hbe, and anti-hbc through elisa. hbv-positive dna-hbv samples were examined by nested pcr. the correlation between categorical variables was estimated using spearmen correlation coefficient.  all statistical analyses were performed using spss version 22 software.results: our study showed that no s gene mutation occurred in studied children. however, 4 (15.4%) of the children were hbe ag positive, while the frequency of positive hbe antibody positive in the serum of children was 18 (69.2%).conclusion: in general, since different types of pre-s / s variants are predominantly identified in patients with chronic hbv that can affect the progression of liver disease, it is therefore necessary to evaluate the types of pre-s / s variants regularly in hbv. carriers should be identified to help discover people at higher risk for liver disease. our study, as a single center study in southeastern iran, indicated no mutation in this gene in hepatitis b patients.