Frequency of Hepatitis Delta Virus in Hepatitis B Surface-antigen-positive Patients

Objectives: The prevalence of hepatitis delta virus (HDV) worldwide shows geographical differences. Although there are several studies on anti-HDV seroprevalence rates in hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)-positive patients in Turkey, studies on HDV-RNA prevalence in this patient population are limited. It was aimed to detect the frequency of anti-HDV antibodies and HDV-RNA in HBsAg-positive patients in this study. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study included 2089 HBsAg-positive patients in whom anti-HDV was analyzed between April 2015 and March 2017. Anti-HDV test was performed in serum samples obtained from HBsAg-positive patients by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. In anti-HDV-positive patients, HDV-RNA was analyzed in serum samples by real-time polymerase chain reaction. Results: The seroprevalence of anti-HDV was 4.1% (85/2089), while the rate of HDV-RNA positivity was 2.4% (51/2089). HDV-RNA was detected in 60% (51/85) of anti-HDV-positive patients. The frequency of anti-HDV and HDV-RNA was highest in the 50-59 age group. Conclusion: The frequency of HDV in this study was found to be consistent with regional data. HDV viremia was detected in only 60% (51/85) of the anti-HDV-positive patients. Since anti-HDV antibodies may remain after recovery, it is important to investigate HDV-RNA to determine the true prevalence of HDV.