Genotype F prevails in HBV infected patients of Hispanic origin in Central America and may carry the precore stop mutant

The distribution of HBV genotypes and the presence of the precore stop mutation were investigated in HBV strains from Central America. 333 HBsAg positive sera from chronic HBsAg carriers and acute hepatitis B cases from five different countries (Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala) were tested for HBV DNA by nested PCR. Genotyping by limited sequencing within the S gene was performed on 90 strains, 66 from sera with a high level of HBV DNA, and another 24 from sera positive for HBV DNA only after nested PCR. 23 of the samples were anti‐HBe positive. Genotype F was found in 71 (79%), A in 13 (14%), D in 5 (6%) and C in one of the 90 sera. 18 patients with genotype F infection had anti‐HBe and HBV DNA in serum. Since the three published precore sequences of genotype F strains have a C 1858 , which is known to prevent the precore stop mutation from G to A at position 1896, the precore and part of the core genes were sequenced from 19 anti‐HBe positive sera with HBV DNA, 17 with genotype F and 2 with genotype A. The A 1896 mutation was found in 11 of the 17 genotype F strains. All these had a T 1858 , which was also present in 5 of the 6 genotype F strains with G 1896 . The precore region was therefore sequenced from genotype F strains from 5 HBeAg positive sera from the five different Central American countries. These also had a T 1858 , which thus is the wild type substitution in genotype F in Central America. A number of mutations were recorded between residues 57 and 68 in the core protein corresponding to a unique clustering region of the genotype F strains. The predominance of genotype F in Central American populations of Hispanic origin was not anticipated since this genotype is regarded as indigenous to the Amerindian populations of the New World. J. Med. Virol. 51:305–312, 1997. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.