Short report: Phylogenetically distinct hepatitis E viruses in Pakistan

Hepatitis E, which is enterically transmitted, is the most common cause of acute hepatitis in much of Asia. Phylogenetic analysis of several isolates of hepatitis E virus (HEV) from Asia suggests that transmission of this vir us is geographically restricted. In Sarghoda, Pakistan, HEV Sar-55 was isol ated from a 1987 outbreak. It belongs to the Central-Asian cluster of the A sian sub-genotype. We now report the complete sequence of a second Pakistan HEV from a 1988 outbreak in Abbottabad. The Abbottabad nucleotide sequence was compared with 15 other complete HEV sequences using statistical method s of phylogenetic analysis. The analysis showed that Abbottabad HEV belongs to the South Asia cluster of the Asian sub-genotype. The sequence differen ces of the 2 Pakistan isolates recovered only one year apart suggest that H EV of 2 distinct origins circulate in Pakistan.