Complete Genome Sequence Analysis of Hepatitis B Virus Isolated from Pakistani Patients with Chronic HBV Infection

Abstract

Hepatitis B Virus (HBV)has been etiologically linked to several liver related ailments of both chronic and acute nature, including fatal fulminant hepatitis, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, which is a highly prevalent human cancer and is responsible for significant morbidity and mortality internationally. A large number of genomic discrepancies have been reported in HBV over the past two decades and these induce a specific change in virus biology. The variants involved in host immune system evasion radically modify the virus-host interactions when present and are a serious challenge to healthcare personnel.To investigate this, a cross sectional study was conducted in HBV infected patients identified randomly in different tertiary care hospitals of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, which will lead to the characterization of sequence variations in HBV genome after amplification and cloning.The purpose of this study was to demonstrate full length genome mutations in chronic HBV infected patients in the Pakistani population and to individually map the mutations in the viral gene products of the HBV to extensively describe their molecular characteristics in viral life cycle and course of infection. New treatment alternatives have to be employed to treat accumulated viral mutations as seen in the case of Hepatitis B virus mutants in Pakistan. There is a dire need that pathologists, pharmaceutical and the healthcare industry augment their awareness of HBV mutants and how these mutants may modify existing diagnostic and treatment options in the perspective of Pakistan