RESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: To study genotype distribution and the characteristics of hepatitis B virus (HBV) in Uighur patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) in Xinjiang, China. METHODS: Type specific primers and PCR were used to detect the HBV genotypes of 127 Uighur CHB patients in Xinjiang. Genotyping results were confirmed by PCR product sequencing. RESULTS: Among the 127 patients, the proportions of genotype D, B, C and B/D, C/D, B/C/D were 39.4% (50/127), 22.0% (28/127), 16.5% (21/127) and 9.4% (12/127), 8.7% (11/127) and 3.9% (5/127), respectively. The distribution of the HBV genotypes showed no significant differences between male and female patients (x2 = 8.058, P > 0.05), between HBeAg positive and negative patients (x2 = 6.033, P > 0.05), and between patients of different ages (x2 = 3.137, P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Genotype D HBV is predominant in Uighur patients with chronic hepatitis B in Xinjiang. The distribution of various HBV genotypes shows no significant differences between these Uighur patients with different HBeAg positivity, sex and age.