Hepatitis B Virus Genotypes and Pre-core / Core Promoter Mutations in Malaysian Carriers Ton, So Harauthor Tan, Sui Mengauthor Koo, Boo Siangauthor Mazlam Zawawiauthor Nagalingam ThanaletchimyauthorHBV-DNA from 120 HBsAg-positive Malaysians was genotyped and mutations at the core promoter and precore regions were studied. The dominant genotype observed was genotype B (53.4%), followed by genotype C (13.6%) and 1 each of genotypes D and E (1.1% ). A high proportion of the carriers (30.7%) showed a co-infection of genotypes B and C. When the carriers were grouped into asymptomatic (ASM) and symptomatic (SYM) individuals, it was found that SYM individuals showed a significantly higher proportion of co-infection compared to ASM individuals (46.2% vs. 8.3%, P < 0.05). Correlation analysis with the mutations showed a significant correlation between genotype C and T1762A1764 variant (P < 0.05). A second observation showed positive correlation between C1858 variants and individuals with co-infection of genotypes B and C while T1858 variants were strongly linked to genotype B-infected individuals (P < 0.05). In conclusion it was found that the predominant genotype in our study was B followed by C and that genotype B was significantly linked to T1858 variants while T1762 A1764 variants had significant correlation with genotype C.Q Science, Computer ScienceR Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Nursing2005Malaysian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular BiologyJournal