Fast Facts
- Hepatitis D infection occurs as a coinfection or superinfection with hepatitis B.
- Populations more likely to have coinfection include Indigenous populations, recipients of hemodialysis and people who inject drugs.
- Hepatitis D infection can be prevented by hepatitis B virus immunization, but treatment success rates are low.
- Hepatitis D is uncommon in the United States. Most cases occur among people who migrate or travel to the U.S. from other countries with high hepatitis D endemicity. Because hepatitis D is not a nationally notifiable condition, the actual number of cases in the U.S. is unknown.
- Hepatitis D is most common in Eastern and Southern Europe, the Mediterranean region, the Middle East, West and Central Africa, East Asia and the Amazon basin in South America.
- Hepatitis D is transmitted through activities that involve percutaneous and mucosal contact with infectious blood or body fluids, such as semen and saliva.
- Between 70% and 80% of people with chronic hepatitis D superinfection develop cirrhosis and liver failure within 5 to 10 years of infection.
- Since the 1980s, the number of hepatitis D infections has decreased worldwide due to the success of the global hepatitis B vaccination program.
- Patients with chronic liver disease and impaired immunity due to classical hepatitis viruses, other hepatotropic virus infections or nonalcoholic fatty liver disease/nonalcoholic steatohepatitis are more susceptible to COVID-19, and may present worse outcomes from acute respiratory distress syndrome compared with other patients who are critically ill.
References:
CDC. Viral Hepatitis – Hepatitis D Questions and Answers for Health Professionals. https://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/hdv/hdvfaq.htm. Accessed Dec. 21, 2021.
Parvez MK. Future Virol. 2020;doi:10.2217/fvl-2020-0065.
WHO. Hepatitis D. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/hepatitis-d. Published July 28, 2021. Accessed Dec. 21, 2021.