Hepatitis delta: on soft paws across Germany.
Infection
; 40(6): 621-5, 2012 Dec.
Article
de En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-22753115
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION:
Globally, more than 350 million people are considered to be chronic carriers of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection; thereof, 15-20 million of these individuals are thought to be coinfected with hepatitis delta virus (HDV). The clinical course depends on the mode of transmission; whereas coinfection commonly resolves, superinfection aggravates the disease and progresses to chronicity in over 90 % of the cases, which, again, results in cirrhosis.OBJECTIVE:
Although many tests are performed in HBV carriers, data on the prevalence of anti-HDV-IgG in Germany are only rarely available and outdated. Therefore, we retrospectively evaluated the seroprevalence of anti-HDV-IgG from the results of our routine service. MATERIALS ANDMETHODS:
Between January 2000 and October 2011, serum samples from 2,844 patients (carrying hepatitis B surface antigen) admitted to University Hospital Frankfurt am Main, Frankfurt, Germany, were tested for anti-HDV-IgG by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).RESULTS:
The overall seroprevalence of anti-HDV-IgG in the collective of Frankfurt (n = 2,844) is 7.4 % [95 % confidence interval (CI) 6.4-8.4]. The amount of seropositive men (8.3 %, 95 % CI 6.9-10) significantly exceeds the female proportion (5.7 %, 95 % CI 4.3-7.5). The rate of seropositivity to anti-HDV-IgG in this collective of Frankfurt reached a maximum in the year 2003 (10.1 %, 95 % CI 8.9-11.1). The lowest rate was observable in 2004, where 5.4 % were positive to anti-HDV-IgG.CONCLUSION:
Of the HBV carriers in Germany, 5-8 % reveal serologic evidence of coinfection with HDV. The vaccination against HBV is the key to prevent HDV infection; therefore, vaccination must strongly be propagated further on.
Texte intégral:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Base de données:
MEDLINE
Sujet principal:
Virus de l'hépatite delta
/
Hépatite B
Type d'étude:
Observational_studies
Limites:
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Pays/Région comme sujet:
Europa
Langue:
En
Journal:
Infection
Année:
2012
Type de document:
Article
Pays d'affiliation:
Allemagne