High degree of conservation in the hepatitis B virus core gene during the immune tolerant phase in perinatally acquired chronic hepatitis B virus infection

Background: Mutations in the hepatitis B virus genome have been implicated in the persistence of hepatitis B virus infection and the pathogenesis of hepatitis B virus related liver disease. In view of the heterogeneity in published sequences, data from cross-sectional studies of unrelated subjects cannot differentiate true mutations from infections with variant sequences.