RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To understand phylogenetic characteristics of sporadic hepatitis E virus (HEV) in eastern China. METHODS: Four hundred and thirteen sera were collected from sporadic hepatitis E cases in 14 second- or first-class hospitals in Eastern China from 2005 to 2008 and detected with a nested RT-PCR assay. Partial nucleotide sequences of the HEV isolates were determined for phylogenetic analysis with prototype sequences in the GenBank. RESULTS: The male-to-female sex ratio of the patients was 1.75:1 with 61.5% of them aged 40 - 69 years old. HEV RNA was detected in 140 out of 413(34%)serum samples. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that all the 140 HEV isolates belonged to genotype IV, sharing 77.9% - 88.3%, 80.8% - 90.6%, 73.4% - 85.2% and 91.0% - 95.4% nucleotide sequence identities with prototype I, II, III and IV HEV isolates respectively. CONCLUSION: It was evident that genotype IV HEV served as the main causative agent of sporadic HEV infection in Eastern China. However the viral origin and evolution needs further clarification.
