Identification and characterization of novel hepatitis B virus subgenotype C10 in Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia

Six novel subgenotypes (B7, B8, C6, C8, C9, and D6) within three hepatitis B virus (HBV) genotypes (B–D) were recently identified in Indonesia. To further characterize HBV in this country, 18 HBV-viremic samples obtained from blood donors in Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia, were subjected to phylogenetic analysis of an 1.6-kb partial or full-length sequence. Thirteen HBV isolates were classified into genotype B with four distinct subgenotypes [B3 (n = 2), B5 (n = 1), B7 (n = 4), and B8 (n = 6)], followed by 4 HBV isolates of genotype C (HBV/C); the remaining one isolate was of D (D1). As for the four HBV/C isolates, one isolate segregated into subgenotype C1, and two into C2. The remaining HBV/C isolate [C0901177(NT3)] differed from reported HBV/C isolates (C1–C9) by 4.6–7.7% over the entire genome and did not show evidence of recombination with any of the known HBV genotypes/subgenotypes, justifying its conclusive assignment into a novel subgenotype (C10) within genotype C.     

A nationwide molecular epidemiological study on hepatitis B virus in Indonesia: identification of two novel subgenotypes,B8 and C7

Upon phylogenetic analysis of a partial S gene sequence [396 nucleotides (nt)], 928 hepatitis B virus (HBV) strains obtained from 899 viremic subjects in 28 major cities on 15 islands of Indonesia in 1989–2007 segregated into four HBV genotypes. Genotype B was predominant (66%), followed by genotype C (26%), genotype D (7%), and genotype A (0.8%). Comparative and phylogenetic analyses of the 396-nt S gene sequence of 928 HBV isolates and whole genomic sequences of 25 selected HBV isolates revealed a total of 14 subgenotypes within genotypes A–D: two (A1 and A2) in genotype A (HBV/A), five (B2, B3, B5, B7, and a novel subgenotype, tentatively designated B8) in HBV/B, five (C1, C2, C5, C6, and another novel subgenotype, C7) in HBV/C, and two (D1 and D3) in HBV/D. The distribution of HBV genotypes/subgenotypes, including B8 and C7, seems to be associated with ethnological origins in Indonesia. The nucleotide sequence data reported in this study have been assigned DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank accession numbers AP011084–AP011108 for 25 entire HBV genomes and AB466339–AB467266 for 928 partial HBV sequences.     

Distribution of the hepatitis B surface antigen subtypes in Indonesia: implications for ethnic heterogeneityand infection control measures

Summary.  Previous studies on the distribution of subtypes of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) in Indonesia have not entirely covered the whole nation. Consequently, we determined the HBsAg subtypes, adw, adr, ayw, and ayr in a total of 569 HBsAg-positive sera from areas so far not studied. With results in this and our previous studies taken together (a total of 3045 HBsAg-positive sera were analyzed), a nationwide picture on the HBsAg subtype distribution indicated that Indonesia could roughly be divided into 4 zones: (i) adw-predominant zone consisting of Sumatera, Java, southern part of Kalimantan, Bali, Lombok, Ternate, and Morotai; (ii) ayw-zone of the eastern part of Nusa Tenggara and Moluccas, (iii) adr-zone of Irian Jaya; and (iv) a mixed subtype-zone of Kalimantan, Sulawesi and Sumbawa. An interesting exception was Padang of Sumatera island: Padang was rich in adr although it is far from the adr-zone. Since the HBsAg subtype, like mutations in mitochondrial DNA, could be used as an ethnological marker, our present results suggest that the peoples in Indonesia have at least three major ethnic origins, represented by adw, ayw, and adr. Of another note, the diagnostic and preventive measures for hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in Indonesia may be improved by considering such diversity of HBV strains revealed in this study. Received May 29, 1997 Accepted July 9, 1997     

Absence of rotavirus in the neonatal special care nursery of a Malaysian maternity hospital

The pattern of rotavirus infection in babies of the neonatal special care nursery (SCN) of the Kuala Lumpur Maternity Hospital was studied. The presence of rotavirus in the neonates' stools was ascertained using the method of polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and silver staining. No rotavirus was detected in the 511 stools and rectal swabs collected from the 164 neonates over a 8-week period. Thus the babies admitted to the SCN from the labour rooms and the postnatal wards of the hospital were unlikely to be carriers of rotavirus or infected by rotavirus during their stay. It was concluded that rotavirus was not endemic in the nursery or the postnatal wards of this maternity hospital.     

Clinical Evaluation of Total IgE in Tears of Patients with Allergic Conjunctivitis Disease Using a Novel Application of the Immunochromatography Method

Background: The determination of total IgE in tears is useful as a diagnostic tool in allergic conjunctivitis disease (ACD). We evaluated the efficacy of this diagnostic tool for ACD, which is a clinically applicable novel immunochromagraphic method to determine total IgE in tears.Methods: The subjects comprised 4 groups: 15 patients with vernal keratoconjunctivitis (VKC group), 8 patients with atopic keratoconjunctivitis (AKC group), 18 patients with allergic conjunctivitis (AC group), and 7 normal healthy volunteers as a control (control group). Tears were sampled using filter paper, and the total IgE in tears was determined by immunochromatography assay. Semiquantitative determination was carried out by examining the intensity of the colored line using an immunochromatoreader (IgE index). The relationship between IgE indices in tears and total IgE levels in serum or between IgE indices and the clinical scores of ACD was examined.Results: The positive ratio obtained by this novel application of the immunochromatography assay was 38 of the 41 in the patients with ACD and none in the 7 controls. IgE indices for the VKC group, AKC group and AC group were 27.5 ± 15.6, 19.8 ± 15.8, and 4.0 ± 3.1 (mean ± SD), respectively. IgE indices in tears showed significant correlation with both total IgE levels in serum (P < 0.001, r = 0.76) and clinical scores of ACD (P < 0.001, r = 0.57).Conclusions: The novel application of the immunochromatography assay to assess the total IgE in tears is a useful clinical tool to investigate ACD.