Genetic analysis of hepatitis A virus outbreak in France confirms the co-circulation of subgenotypes Ia, Ib and reveals a new genetic lineage

Genetic analysis of selected genome regions of hepatitis A Virus (HAV) sugg ested that distinct genotype could be defined in different geographic locat ions. In order to study the degree of genetic variability among HAV isolate d during a single epidemic outbreak, sequences from a 148 base pair segment within the VP1 amino terminal region were obtained for eight distinct HAV isolates from an outbreak that occurred in North Bretagne (France). These s equences were compared among themselves and with published sequences from 3 0 different strains that represented different HAV sub-genotypes that were isolated all over the world. Phylogenetic analysis revealed an extensive ge netic heterogeneity among strains belonging to the same outbreak and reveal ed co-circulation of sub-genotype IA, IB, and the presence of IIIA sub-geno type for the first time in a Mediterranean country. (C) 2001 Wiley-Liss, In c.