Prevalence of hepatitis D virus infection in hepatitis B surface antigen-positive subjects in Golestan province, northeast Iran.
OBJECTIVE
Hepatitis D virus (HDV) is a defective RNA virus dependent on hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection for its replication and expression. It is known that coexistent infection with HDV tends to aggravate the course of HBV-associated liver disease. This study was carried out to determine the seroprevalence of HDV among hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)-positive individuals in the northeast part of Iran.


METHODS
139 HBsAg-positive subjects detected from a population-based single stage cluster sampling in Golestan province of Iran were enrolled. All cases were evaluated for the presence of anti-HDV antibodies using commercially available enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent assay kits. Logistic regression was used to determine the relationship between independent variables and HDV seropositivity.


RESULTS
Of 139 cases, 68 were males (48.9%) and 71 were females (51.1%). The mean age was 41.9 +/- 11.3 years (range, 25-64 years). Anti-HDV antibody was positive in 8 subjects (5.8%), with a female predominance (9.9% vs 1.5%, p=0.06; odds ratio, 7.32; 95% confidence interval, 0.87-61.23). No significant relationship was seen between anti-HDV seropositivity and demographic factors such as age, place of residence and marital status.


CONCLUSIONS
These findings show that HDV infection is endemic in Golestan province (northeast) of Iran. Seroprevalence of anti-HDV in the present study was higher than in some previous studies from other parts of Iran. Our results suggest that the prevalence of HBV/HDV coinfection in Golestan province of Iran has increased during the last decade. Therefore, practitioners and health care managers should be made aware of the risk of dual infection with HBV and HDV.
Roshandel
Gholamreza
G
Golestan Research Center of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Iran. roshandel_md@yahoo.com
Semnani
Shahryar
S
Abdolahi
Nafiseh
N
Besharat
Sima
S
Keshtkar
Abbas Ali
AA
Joshaqani
Hamidreza
H
Moradi
Abdolvahab
A
Kalavi
Khodaberdi
K
Jabbari
Ali
A
Kabir
Mohammad Javad
MJ
Hosseini
Seyed Ahmad
SA
Sedaqat
Seyed Mehdi
SM
Danesh
Ahmad
A
Roshandel
Danyal
D
Hedayat-Mofidi
Seyed Mohammad
SM
D000328:Adult; D019353:Endemic Diseases; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies / Q000097:blood*; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000150:complications*; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens / Q000097:blood; D003699:Hepatitis D / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran / Q000453:epidemiology; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies
D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens