A case report on rare hepatitis B viral subgenotype from a tertiary care center in Chennai

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a global health concern with 350 million chronic carriers. With respect to HBV India is classified as an intermediate endemic country. The disease progression may be due to many viral factors including HBV viral load, HBe antigen, genotype, mutations in polymerase gene, and X gene. In this case, the individual was a treatment naïve chronic HBV carrier. The reverse transcriptase gene and X gene were sequenced and mutations were analyzed. The individual had D3 subgenotype. rt80I was identified in reverse transcriptase and A102V in HBx protein. Identification of genotype and mutations in reverse transcriptase/X gene may help in predicting and improving the clinical outcomes.