Commentary on: A study of genotypes, mutants, and nucleotide sequence of hepatitis B virus in Pakistan

We read with interest the recent article by Mumtaz and colleagues published in Hepatitis Monthly (1). The authors attempted to describe an epidemiological pattern of hepatitis B virus (HBV) in Pakistan and compare this pattern to other parts of the world. To determine the genotype of 257 isolated HBV, a line probe assay was used. The HBV genotype D was determined among 247 cases, and 9 patients were infectedwith genotypes B and D. One strain with genotype A was isolated as well. To confirm this genotyping method, the authors constructed a phylogeny tree based on three full-length genome sequences. The phylogeny tree showed that two strains clustered with subgenotype D1 from India, China, Tunisia, and Belgium, and one strain could be grouped into subgenotype D3 from India, Indonesia, Spain, and France.