Hepatitis B Transmission: Is Vertical Transmission the Major Route in Intermediate Endemic Areas? A Proof-of-Concept Study Based on Mother-Child Genotypes.

ABSTRACT: The route of hepatitis B transmission is believed to be horizontal in India, though pediatric studies showed mother as source in the majority of chronic HBV (CHB) cases. We aimed at establishing the fact that mother-child transmission is the main route of acquisition by documenting genotypically identical viruses in mother-child pairs. Blood samples of consecutive children (≤ 18 years) with CHB and high DNA (> 10,000 IU/mL) and their positive mothers were collected from January 2013 to December 2015. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products of HBV-DNA were amplified and sequenced by using BigDye Terminator Cycle Sequencing Kit v3.1 and aligned with previously described sequences in the region of interest for genotypes A to G by using BioEdit software. Phylogenetic tree was generated using

SUBMITTER: Poddar U 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8641309 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature