Abstract
The molecular profile of hepatitis Delta in Afghanistan remains unclear yet, therefore this study addresses the genotype of HDV among HBsAg carriers in Afghanistan. In total 234 HBsAg-positive sera were examined by chemiluminescent micro-particle immunoassay to detect Anti-HDV antibodies. Serologically positive samples were later approved via real-time PCR test and subsequently, a 731 bp segment of the HDV Delta antigen RNA region was sequenced in the Illumina platform. The isolates were genotyped via distance matrix/UPGMA analysis using Kimura 2-parameter by MEGA7 software package program. The HBV/HDV coinfection rate among HBsAg carriers in Afghanistan was 2.1%. Finally, 4 samples successfully amplified Hepatitis delta antigen (HDAg) which Later in phylogenetic analysis, all resided in branch genotype I and were stored at GenBank with accession numbers MK799645, MK799646, MK799647, MK799648. The HDV genotypic variations in the Afghan HBsAg carriers may be homogenous and HDV-1 may be the predominant genotype in Afghanistan.