Hong Kong Med J 2014;20(Suppl 6):S25-7
Hepatitis B virus array for genotyping and mutation detection
V Chan, CL Lai, KM Chan, MF Yuen
Department of Medicine, Queen Mary Hospital
 
 
1. A comprehensive hepatitis B virus (HBV) array providing simultaneous analysis of HBV genotypes, mutations of reverse-transcriptase polymerase gene and mutations of S gene was developed.
2. The specificity and sensitivity of the HBV array was validated through analysis of 506 serum samples.
3. The array demonstrated improved sensitivity compared with existing commercial kits, with a detection limit down to ~28 copies/mL of HBV. It also enabled early detection of emergence of drug-resistant mutants.
4. The array may be useful for clinicians in making timely decisions on switching to alternative drugs.