Prevalence and clinical features of hepatitis delta virus infection in the Miyako Islands, Okinawa, Japan

• Published in: Journal of gastroenterology Vol. 33; no. 6; pp. 850 - 854
• Main Authors: Nakasone, H, Sakugawa, H, Shokita, H, Nakayoshi, T, Kawakami, Y, Kinjo, F, Saito, A, Shinjo, M, Adaniya, H, Mizushima, T, Taira, M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Japan 01.12.1998
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Age Distribution; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Base Sequence; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Hepatitis D - diagnosis; Hepatitis D - epidemiology; Hepatitis Delta Virus - isolation & purification; Humans; Japan - epidemiology; Male; Middle Aged; Molecular Sequence Data; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Prevalence; Risk Factors; RNA, Viral - analysis; Rural Population; Serologic Tests - methods; Sex Distribution; Japan
• ISSN: 0944-1174; 1435-5922
• DOI: 10.1007/s005350050186

The aims of this study were twofold: (1) to determine the prevalence and clinical features of hepatitis delta virus (HDV) infection among subjects positive for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) living in the Miyako Islands, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, and (2) to clarify the relationship between HDV-RNA level and severity of HDV-related liver disease. One hundred and ninety-nine HBsAg-positive subjects (123 asymptomatic carriers [ASCs], 3 patients with acute hepatitis [AH], 50 patients with chronic hepatitis [CH], 15 patients with liver cirrhosis [LC], and 8 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma [HCC], were tested for antibody to HDV (anti-HDV) by radioimmunoassay. Anti-HDV-positive individuals were examined to determine semi-quantified HDV-RNA level by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The overall prevalence of anti-HDV among the 199 subjects was 21.1%. The positivity rate tended to increase with age or the severity of the underlying liver disease: anti-HDV-positive rates were 10.6% (13/123) in ASCs, 32.0% (16/50) in patients with CH, 40.0% (6/15) in patients with LC, and 87.5% (7/8) in patients with HCC. None of the patients with AH were positive for anti-HDV. There was no correlation between semi-quantified serum HDV-RNA levels and the severity of chronic liver disease in patients positive for anti-HDV. The present study showed the local spread of HDV infection in the Miyako Islands, Okinawa, Japan. Although the anti-HDV positivity rate tended to increase with the severity of the underlying liver disease, the severity of HDV-related liver disease did not correlate with the semi-quantified serum HDV-RNA level.