{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,12]],"date-time":"2025-10-12T02:06:34Z","timestamp":1760234794423,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":53,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,6,30]],"date-time":"2021-06-30T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1625011200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Viruses"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Variants in the small surface gene of hepatitis B virus (HBV), which codes for viral surface antigen (HBsAg), can affect the efficacy of HBsAg screening assays and can be associated with occult HBV infection (OBI). This study aimed to characterise the molecular diversity of the HBV small surface gene from HBV-reactive Australian blood donors. HBV isolates from 16 HBsAg-positive Australian blood donors\u2019 plasma were sequenced and genotyped by phylogenies of viral coding genes and\/or whole genomes. An analysis of the genetic diversity of eight HBV small surface genes from our 16 samples was conducted and compared with HBV sequences from NCBI of 164 international (non-Australian) blood donors. Genotypes A\u2013D were identified in our samples. The region of HBV small surface gene that contained the sequence encoding the \u2018a\u2019 determinant had a greater genetic diversity than the remaining part of the gene. No escape mutants or OBI-related variants were observed in our samples. Variant call analysis revealed two samples with a nucleotide deletion leading to truncation of polymerase and\/or large\/middle surface amino acid sequences. Overall, we found that HBV small surface gene sequences from Australian donors demonstrated a lower level of genetic diversity than those from non-Australian donor population included in the study.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/v13071275","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,6,30]],"date-time":"2021-06-30T03:53:15Z","timestamp":1625025195000},"page":"1275","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["Low Genetic Diversity of Hepatitis B Virus Surface Gene amongst Australian Blood Donors"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3706-617X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ngoc Minh Hien","family":"Phan","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Health, School of Biomedical Sciences, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, QLD 4059, Australia"},{"name":"Research and Development, Australian Red Cross Lifeblood, Kelvin Grove, QLD 4059, Australia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Helen M.","family":"Faddy","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Health, School of Biomedical Sciences, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, QLD 4059, Australia"},{"name":"Research and Development, Australian Red Cross Lifeblood, Kelvin Grove, QLD 4059, Australia"},{"name":"School of Health and Behavioural Sciences, University of Sunshine Coast, Petrie, QLD 4502, Australia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Robert L.","family":"Flower","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Health, School of Biomedical Sciences, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, QLD 4059, Australia"},{"name":"Research and Development, Australian Red Cross Lifeblood, Kelvin Grove, QLD 4059, Australia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Wayne J.","family":"Dimech","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Scientific & Business Relations, National Serology Reference Laboratory, Fitzroy, VIC 3065, Australia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Kirsten M.","family":"Spann","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Health, School of Biomedical Sciences, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, QLD 4059, Australia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6824-5432","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Eileen V.","family":"Roulis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Health, School of Biomedical Sciences, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, QLD 4059, Australia"},{"name":"Research and Development, Australian Red Cross Lifeblood, Kelvin Grove, QLD 4059, Australia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,6,30]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"743","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(15)60692-4","article-title":"Global, regional, and national incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability for 301 acute and chronic diseases and injuries in 188 countries, 1990\u20132013: A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013","volume":"386","author":"Vos","year":"2015","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1546","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(15)61412-X","article-title":"Estimations of worldwide prevalence of chronic hepatitis B virus infection: A systematic review of data published between 1965 and 2013","volume":"386","author":"Schweitzer","year":"2015","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1186\/s12879-016-1834-2","article-title":"Prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) in a blood donor population born prior to and after implementation of universal HBV vaccination in Shenzhen, China","volume":"16","author":"Wang","year":"2016","journal-title":"BMC Infect. 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