Prevalence Of Hepatitis Delta In Chronic Hepatitis B Patients

Objective: The aim of this study is to explore the prevalence of hepatitis delta among individuals with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in our province,and thereby contribute to the national epidemiological data.Methods: Anti-hepatitis delta virus (anti-HDV) results of patients aged 18 and over who were followed with chronic hepatitis B diagnosis in the period from January 1, 2017 to March 1, 2019 were evaluated retrospectively. Patients were separated into two groups, according to 2017 Clinical Practice Guidelines of the European Association for the Study of the Liver, namely, those with chronic infection and those with chronic hepatitis. Demographic data of patients were recorded.Results: The age range of the 455 patients diagnosed with chronic HBV infection (205 with chronic infection and 250 with chronic hepatitis) was 20 to 78 years (mean 43.20 +/- 13.25) and 259 were (56.9%) male, and 196 (43.1%) were female. 40 (8.8%) of the 455 chronic HBV infection patients were anti-HDV-seropositive. Anti-HDV seropositivity was identified in 16 (7.8%) of the patients followed-up for chronic infection, and in 24 (9.6%) of those followed-up for chronic hepatitis. Of the anti-HDV-seropositive patients, 24 (60%) had a familial history of chronic HBV infection and 13 (32.5%) had a familial history of cirrhosis associated with chronic HBV infection. Familial history of cirrhosis associated with chronic HBV infection was found statistically significantly higher in anti-HDV-seropositive patients versus anti-HDV-seronegative patients (p<0.001).Conclusions: Anti-HDV seropositivity rates found in our study are lower than those previously reported for our region but higher than those reported for the country and for the western regions of the country. The high rate of familial history for chronic HBV infection among our patients reveals the importance of intrafamilial transmission. Beside HBV prevention programmes, the creation of the HDV infection awareness in the areas where hepatitis delta frequency is high is of crucial importance in terms of avoiding the HDV infection.