Hepatitis B virus genotypes in Brazil: Introduction and dissemination

• Published in: Infection, genetics and evolution genetics and evolution, 2021-09, Vol.93, p.104936-104936, Article 104936
• Main Authors: Wolf, Jonas Michel, Simon, Daniel, Lunge, Vagner Ricardo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Brazil; Brazil - epidemiology; Epidemiology; Genotype; Genotypes; Hepatitis B - epidemiology; Hepatitis B - virology; Hepatitis B virus; Hepatitis B virus - genetics; Humans; Incidence; Phylogeography; Prevalence
• ISSN: 1567-1348; 1567-7257
• DOI: 10.1016/j.meegid.2021.104936

Hepatitis B is a viral infectious disease highly spread worldwide with a long evolutionary history associated with human migrations through the continents and countries. Hepatitis B virus (HBV) was disseminated probably from Africa and diverged into ten genotypes (HBV-A to HBV-J) distributed around the world. In Brazil, almost all HBV genotypes were already reported, with a predominance of three ones: A (52.1%), D (36.8%), and F (7.7%). This review aimed to evaluate the introduction and dissemination of the main HBV genotypes and subgenotypes in Brazil over the last centuries to explain the current epidemic scenario. The highest frequency of HBV-A is a consequence of the introduction and spreading of HBV-A1 in the 16th to 19th centuries due to the African slave trade, but the more recent introduction of HBV-A2 from Europe also contributed to the current situation. HBV-D is the second most frequent genotype because it was consecutively introduced by migrations from Europe (mainly subgenotype D3, but also D2) and the Middle East (D1) in the 19th to 20th centuries. On contrary, HBV-F (F1a, F1b, F2a, F2b, F3, and F4) was disseminated by the Amerindians in all South American countries, including Brazil, by migrations inside the continent for more than three centuries ago. Other HBV genotypes are rare and eventually frequent in some human groups because of the dissemination by very specific epidemiological routes. In conclusion, the current scenario of the HBV epidemics is a consequence of the introduction and dissemination of some subgenotypes from the three main genotypes A, D, and F over the last five centuries. •In Brazil, the genotypes A, D e F of HBV are the most prevalent.•HBV-A genotype showed a very ancient introduction and it spreads in the Americas mainly due to the slave trade.•HBV-D genotype is the second most frequent in Brazil and it was consecutively introduced by migrations between the 19th and 20th centuries.•HBV-F genotype was disseminated by the Amerindians in all South American countries.•The scenario of the HBV epidemics in Brazil is a consequence of the dissemination from the three main genotypes A, D, and F along the last five centuries.