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Review
. 2015 Jul 1;5(7):a021576.
doi: 10.1101/cshperspect.a021576.

Hepatitis D Virus: Introduction and Epidemiology

Mario Rizzetto  1
Affiliations
Review

Hepatitis D Virus: Introduction and Epidemiology

Mario Rizzetto. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Med. .

Abstract

Hepatitis D is caused by the hepatitis D virus (HDV), a unique RNA pathogen that requires the hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) to infect. Hepatitis D is transmitted by the parenteral route. The main susceptible group is patients with chronic HBsAg infection who become superinfected with the virus. Hepatitis D occurs throughout the globe, but control of hepatitis B virus (HBV) in the last two decades has consistently diminished the circulation of HDV in industrialized countries. However, hepatitis D remains a medical issue for injecting drug users (IDUs), as well as immigrants from endemic HDV areas, who are reintroducing the infection in Europe.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Virologic and serologic markers in coinfection (hepatitis D virus [HDV]/hepatitis B virus [HBV]) and superinfection (hepatitis B surface antigen [HBsAg]/HDV).
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Schematic representation of the main areas of HDV globally onto which the predominant hepatitis D virus (HDV) genotype for each geographical area has been superimposed. (From Negro 2014; reproduced from © 2013 John Wiley and Sons.)
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Changes in the prevalence of anti-HD in HBsAg-carriers with liver disease in Italy; 2009 are incident cases.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Epidemiology of hepatitis D virus (HDV) in Europe in 2012. Prevalence of immigrants among HDV+. (1) Data from Buti et al. (2011), (2) data from Cross et al. 2008, (3) data from Wedemeyer and Manns 2010, (4) data from Rizzetto and Ciancio 2012, and (5) data from Brancaccio et al. 2014.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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