Abstract

 Background and Objectives

 Hepatitis B is one of the major diseases that has the potential to be transmitted by blood transfusion. Specific genotypes of hepatitis B virus are increasingly recognized for their clinical significance and association with particular viral mutations. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of hepatitis B virus genotypes in blood donors of Kerman, Yazd and Isfehan Blood Centers.

 Materials and Methods

 Sera of 120 blood donors, who were positive for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) using ELISA method, were selected. HBV DNA was extracted from sera using commercial kits and the p gene sequences were amplified by nested-PCR. HBV genotypes were determined by direct sequencing of the polymerase gene of HBV. The obtained sequences were aligned with Clustal W programme. Phylogenetic trees were constructed by the Neighbor-joining (NJ) method. The data were analyzed with Fisher test by SPSS 11.5

 Results

 Out of 120 HBsAg positive volunteer blood donors, 69 (57.5% , CI 95% = 48.65-66.34)) were positive for HBV DNA sequence. Sequence analysis was done on the positive samples. Genotype D was detected among 100% of HBV infected volunteer blood donors.

 Conclusions

 The prevalence rate of genotype D was found to be 100%. These findings may have an impact on the immunological and genetic diagnosis of HBV as well as on the selection of diagnostic kits and viral quality control panels.

 Key words : Hepatitis B virus, Blood Donors, Genotype