Hepatitis D Virus in Chronic Liver Disease Patients with Hepatitis B Surface Antigen in University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Calabar, Nigeria

Aims: It is well known that patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV) could be co-infected with hepatitis D virus (HDV), thus worsening and complicating their condition. The prevalence of HBV and HDV co-infection in University of Calabar Teaching Hospital has not been ascertained. This study was therefore carried out to determine the frequency of hepatitis D virus among chronic liver disease (CLD) patients with hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) in University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Calabar, Nigeria.
Place and Duration of Study: This study was carried out in University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Cross River State, Nigeria, from September 2012 to March 2013.
Methodology: A total of 91 subjects were recruited for this study, 76 were CLD patients, while 15 were apparently healthy subjects. Sera samples were subjected to HBsAg using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique and finally the HBsAg positive and negative samples were screened using ELISA technique for hepatitis D virus.
Results: Out of the 91 subjects recruited for this study, 76 (83.5%) tested positive for HBsAg, and were CLD patients. Out of the 76 CLD patients who tested positive for HBsAg, 46 (60.5%) had a co-infection with HDV, while 30(39.47%) showed no co-infection. HBV/HDV co-infection was higher in males 27(58.7%) than females 19 (41.3%).
Conclusion: This study shows a high rate of HDV/HBV co-infection which was higher in males than females with chronic liver disease in UCTH, Calabar, Nigeria.