Definition
- An acute systemic infection caused by hepatitis D virus (HDV)
- Primarily affects the liver
- Transmitted by percutaneous, perinatal, and sexual routes
- HDV is a defective virus that can replicate only in the presence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) or other hepadnaviruses.
- Can infect a person simultaneously with HBV (co-infection) or superinfect a person already infected with HBV (superinfection)
- Enhances severity of HBV infection
- Causes acceleration of chronic hepatitis to cirrhosis
- Occasionally results in fulminant acute hepatitis
- Also known as delta hepatitis
Epidemiology
- Incidence/prevalence
- Worldwide
- ~10 million people are infected.
- Incidence is decreasing.
- 5–8% of hepatitis B chronic carriers have anti-HDV.
- Geographic distribution
- Endemic in Mediterranean countries (northern Africa, southern Europe, the Middle East)
- HDV infection is endemic among persons with hepatitis B.
- Disease is transmitted predominantly by nonpercutaneous means, especially close personal contact.
- Nonendemic in the U.S. and northern Europe
- HDV infection is confined to persons exposed frequently to blood and blood products (injection drug users and hemophiliacs).
Risk Factors
- Persons infected with HBV
- Endemic areas
- Close personal contact with people with HDV
- Nonendemic areas
- Frequent exposure to blood or blood products
- Injection drug users
- Hemophiliacs
- Persons treated with clotting factors
Etiology
- Caused by HDV
- Defective RNA virus
- Co-infects with and requires the helper function of HBV (or other hepadnaviruses) for its replication and expression
- Genus: Deltavirus
- Family: unclassified
- Transmission
- Percutaneous
- Perinatal
- Sexual
- Types of HDV infection
- Co-infection: occurs simultaneously with HBV infection
- Superinfection: occurs in persons already infected with HBV
- Because HDV relies absolutely on HBV, the duration of HDV infection is determined by the duration of HBV infection.
Associated Conditions
- Associated with hepatitis B or other hepadnavirus
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