Frequency of Hepatitis D Virus Infection in Chronic Hepatitis B Patients in Arak

Hepatitis D virus (HDV) is a defective RNA virus that depends on the hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) for its replication. Infection with hepatitis D virus in hepatitis B virus chronic carriers causes accelerated progression to chronic active hepatitis, cirrhosis and hepatic carcinoma. In studies conducted in Iran and different countries, different prevalence of HDV had been reported. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of hepatitis D virus infection in chronic hepatitis B patients in Arak city.
Patients and This cross-sectional study was conducted on 95 chronic hepatitis B patients in Arak city. Demographic characteristics and risk factors for HDV transmission were recorded. Hepatitis D antibody (Anti-HDV) was determined by ELISA in the serums of patients.
In this study 95 chronic hepatitis B patients were enrolled. 61% of cases were male and 39% were female. Anti-HDV was detected in 2 (2.1%) of chronic hepatitis B patients. There was no significant association between HBV/HDV co-infection and sex, age, education level and occupation (P values: 0.74, 0.52, 0.95 and 0.65 respectively). There was no history of injection drug use, unprotected sexual contacts, tattooing and history of familial contact in hepatitis D infected patients.
Our results showed that Arak is an area of low HDV infection in Iran.