Academy of Medical Sciences of Islamic Republic of IranArchives of Iranian Medicine1029-29771322010Common HBV Genotype in Southeastern Iranian Patients147149ENYahyaEftekhari*Department of Microbiology, Hematology, and Immunology, School of Medicine, **Molecular Medicine Research Center, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran. kazemim@modares.ac.irMohammadKazemi Arababadi*Department of Microbiology, Hematology, and Immunology, School of Medicine, **Molecular Medicine Research Center, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran.Amir RezaRadmardDepartment of Radialogy, Shariati Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. kazemim@modares.ac.irHamidHakimi*Department of Microbiology, Hematology, and Immunology, School of Medicine, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran.EbrahimRezazadeh Zarandi*Department of Microbiology, Hematology, and Immunology, School of Medicine, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran.0012010132/AIM.0012Asymptomatic hepatitis B infection is characterized as a type of hepatitis in which hepatitis B surface antigen is present in the patient’s peripheral blood despite the absence of clinical symptoms. Previous studies have shown that a particular genotype may effect clinical manifestations of hepatitis B infection; hence, the aim of the current study was to determine the frequency of hepatitis B virus genotypes among asymptomatic carriers of hepatitis B.In this experimental study, the plasma samples of 100 asymptomatic carriers were collected and tested for HBsAg and anti-HBs using ELISA. The genotype of hepatitis B virus was determined by the GAP-PCR technique. The results of this study showed that all samples were positive for hepatitis B surface antigen and anti-hepatitis B core antigen was present in 60 (60%) cases. Our results also indicated that all patients had the D genotype of hepatitis B virus.Previous studies have shown that the D genotype is prevalent in all clinical presentations of hepatitis B infection in Iran. Hence, based on our results, it can be concluded that the hepatitis B virus genotype may not be associated with asymptomatic hepatitis B infection.