Molecular Epidemiology of Hepatitis B Virus in Pregnant Women: Genotype Distribution in a Central India Tertiary-Care Hospital

Background: Through describing the genetic diversity and geographical distribution of circulating viral strains, HBV genotyping is important for molecular epidemiology. During pregnancy, molecular characterization applies to complement serological screening and HBV DNA detection tests and relies on information characterizing the viral population present in infected women. Material and Methods: In Madhya Pradesh (MP), India, the serum HBsAg of 350 pregnant women was screened for Hepatitis B. Samples positive for HBsAg were tested for HBeAg/HBeAb and HBV DNA. The thesis laboratory protocol defines the genotypic characterization of HBV DNA positive specimens. Results: Eighteen of 350 women were HBsAg-positive. HBV DNA was found in 10 out of 18 HBsAg-positive samples Genotype D was detected in 90% of DNA positive samples while genotype A was detected only in 10% of DNA positive samples. None other genotype was identified among the successfully genotyped ones. The findings of predominance of genotype D are supportive of several Indian population studies and the identification of the genotype A in the current study confirms that the genotype A also circulates in Central India. Conclusion: In this tertiary-care cohort, HBV DNA-positive pregnant women predominantly had genotype D. The research provides new pregnant-specific molecular information from Central India; however, the low number of genotyped samples limits this. There’s a need for bigger multicentre studies that incorporate sequencing. Further, this should incorporate subgenotyping and phylogenetic analysis. Most importantly, these studies should define the molecular epidemiology of HBV in the region.

Keywords: Hepatitis B virus; genotyping; genotype D; genotype A; pregnancy; molecular epidemiology; HBV DNA; Central India.