Journal of the Formosan Medical Association
Volume 105, Issue 11 , Pages 869-881, 2006

Natural Course and Treatment of Hepatitis D Virus Infection

  • Ting-Hui Hsieh

      Affiliations

    • Department of Medicine, Maimonides Medical Center, New York, USA
    • Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
    • ,
  • Chun-Jen Liu

      Affiliations

    • Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
    • ,
  • Ding-Shinn Chen

      Affiliations

    • Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
    • Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
    • Hepatitis Research Center, Taipei, Taiwan
    • ,
  • Pei-Jer Chen

      Affiliations

    • Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
    • Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
    • Hepatitis Research Center, Taipei, Taiwan
    • Department of Medical Research, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorrespondence to: Professor Pei-Jer Chen, Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, 7 Chung-Shan South Road, Taipei 100, Taiwan

Received 30 December 2005; received in revised form 15 March 2006; accepted 30 June 2006.

Article Outline

Hepatitis D virus (HDV) is a subviral satellite with hepatitis B virus (HBV) as its natural helper virus. After entry into hepatocytes, it utilizes host cellular enzymes to replicate by a double-rolling-circle mechanism. HDV is most often transmitted by contact with contaminated blood and body fluid, similar to HBV infection. Approximately 5% of the global HBV carriers are coinfected with HDV, leading to a total of 10-15 million HDV carriers worldwide. HDV infection can occur concurrently with HBV infection (coinfection) or in a patient with established HBV infection (superinfection). The pathogenesis of HDV remains controversial. A decline in the prevalence of both acute and chronic hepatitis D (CHD) has been observed worldwide. At present, therapy for chronic HDV infection is by the use of interferon-a. Compared to chronic hepatitis B or C, CHD treatment requires a higher dosage and a longer duration of treatment, and post-treatment relapses are common. In order to prevent the progression of CHD and its related morbidity and mortality, more effective treatments are needed.

Key Words:  genotype , hepatitis B virus , hepatitis D virus , seroepidemiology , treatment

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PII: S0929-6646(09)60172-8

doi:10.1016/S0929-6646(09)60172-8

Journal of the Formosan Medical Association
Volume 105, Issue 11 , Pages 869-881, 2006

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