Journal of Biological Sciences1727-30481812-5719Asian Network for Scientific Information10.3923/jbs.2009.524.532Al-HumaianyA.A. El-SahrawyM.H. MohamedM.M. 6200996The prevalence of serological markers of HBV and most predominant genotypes were determined in Taif region in the West area of the country among chronically HBV infected residents between 2001-2004. HBsAg, anti-HBc, HBeAg and anti-HBe were screened using an ELISA commercial reagent kit and existence of HBV-DNA was confirmed by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). Higher prevalence of HbsAg (36.2%), anti-HBc (27.2%), anti-HBe (22.4%) and then HBeAg (19.4%) were detected in Saudi patients. Among non-Saudi carriers HBV markers were represented as 51.7, 43.5, 33.2 and 26.7%, for HBsAg, anti-HBc, anti-HBe and HBeAg, respectively. There was not a marked difference between Saudi and non-Saudi patients with regard to HBV marker distribution rates. Prevalence of HBsAg among non-Saudi nationalities showed a higher incidence among Filipino (16/16; 100%), followed by Bangladeshi (19/21; 90.5%), Pakistani (21/28; 75%), Egyptians (11/18; 61.1%) then Indian (21/35; 60%). In all groups prevalence of HBsAg was higher in males than females. HBV-DNA was detected only in 31.5% Saudi and 46.6% among non-Saudi patients who had a chronic hepatitis B infection by using PCR reaction. This indicating that level of HBV-DNA in serum of those patients was very low that couldn’t be detected by this method. The predominant genotypes in the selected patients in the Saudi population was B (34.8%), type C (4.4%) and type A (1.1%) and in non-Saudi patients was B (41.4%), type C (12.2%), type A (2.8%) and type E (2.2%). Type B as mainly expressed in patients with positive HBsAg and anti-HBc marker (77.2 and 72.7%, respectively), followed by patients showed positivity for HBeAg and anti-HBe (66.7 and 62.5%, respectively). These data clearly indicate that, detection of hepatitis B viral infection by a serological markers and PCR reaction may be helpful for identification of the phase of infection.]]>Alter, M.J.,200339S64S69Armitage, P.,1971699597Beasley, R.P.,19886119421956Bonanni, P., G. Pesavento, S. Boccalini and A. Bechini,200339S224S229Castillo, D., J. Bikandi, A. Nieto, G. Quindos, R. Sentandreu and J. Ponton,197940445450Fong, T.L., A.M. Di Bisceglie, R. Biswas, J.G. Waggoner, L. Wilson, J. Claggett and J.H. Hoofnagle,199443155158Brechot, C., M. Hadchouel, J. Scotto, F. Degos, P. Charnay, C. Trepo and P. Tiollais,19812765768Chu, C.J., M. Hussain and A.F. Lok,200112217561762Chu, C.J. and A.S. Lok,20023512741279Conjeevaram H.S. and A. Fong-Lok,200338S90S103Elgouhari , H.M., K. Abu-Rajab, T.I. Tamimi and W. Carey,2009761935El-Hamzi, M.A.,1989925661El-Hazmi, M.A.,2004252633Faleh, F.Z.,19888474480Al-Faleh, F.Z., E.A. Ayoola, M. Arif, S. Ramia, R. Rashed and M. Al-Jeffry,199224197206Fattovich, G.,200339S50S58Gupta, B.P., N. Jayasuryan and S. Jameel,19923019131916Gust, I.D.,199638S18S23Ikram, M.H., S.I. Ali, F.I. Khawaja and A.H. Awad,19888470473Kane, M.,199513S47S49Kaneko, S., T. Oshima, K. Kodama, S. Aoyama and H. Yoshikawa et al.,198986312316Kao, J.H., P.J. Chen, M.Y. Lai and D.S. Chen,2002402225Kao, J.H., C.J. Liu and D.S. Chen,200236303304Kao, J.H., P.J. Chen, M.Y. Lai and D.S. Chen,20024012071209Kidd-Liunggren, K., Y. Miyakawa and A.H. Kidd,20028312671276Lee, W.M.,199733717331745Lindh, M., P. Horal, A.P. Dhillon and G. Norkrans,20007258267Lok, A.S., E.J. Heathcote and J.H. Hoofinagle,200112018281853Maddrey, W.C.,200061362366Margolis, H.S., M.J. Alter and S.C. Hadler,19971997pp: 363-418pp: 363-418Morgan, M. and E.B. Keeffe,200955522Realdi, G., G. Fattovich, S. Hadziyannis, S.W. Schalm and P. Almasio et al.,199421656661Stuyver, L., S. De Gendt, C. Van Geyt, F. Zoulim, M. Fried, R.F. Schinazi and R. Rossau,2000816774Shikata, T., C. Karasawa, K. Abe, T. Uzawa, H. Suziki and T. Oda,1977136571576Stuyver, L., S. DeGendt, C. Van Geyt, F. Zoulim and M. Fried et al.,1999198792Tandon, P., V.P. Pathak, A. Zaheer, A. Chatterjee and N. Wilford,1995151420Usuda, S., H. Okamoto, H. Jwanari, K. Baba, F. Tsuda, Y. Miyakawa and M. Mayumi,19998097112Van Thiel, D.H., N. Maria, A. Colantoni and L. Friedlander,199968519522Whalley, S.A., J.M. Murray, D. Brown, G.M. Webster, V.C. Emery and G.M. Dusheiko,2001193847853Yuen, M.F., J.L. Hou and A. Chutaputti,200924346353Zhang, X., F. Zoulim, F. Habersetzer, S. Xiong and C. Trepo,199648813Yang, J., T. Cai and G.Q. Lou,20092009