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Prevalence of delta antibodies among urban HBsAg-positive chronic liver disease patients in Egypt.
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1988
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Hepatitis DDelta InfectionHepatitis Delta VirusHepatologyAutoimmune DiseaseDelta AntibodiesViral HepatitisGlobal HealthHepatitis BHepatitisPathologyLiver DiseaseDelta AntigenPublic HealthMedicineEpidemiologyAutoimmune Liver DiseaseAutoimmune Hepatitis
The prevalence of delta infection among urban Egyptians is reported for the first time. Sera of 44 HBsAg-positive chronic liver disease (CLD) patients and 48 asymptomatic HBsAg carriers were screened for antibodies to hepatitis delta antigen (anti-HD). Anti-HD was found in 21 (47.7%) of the patients compared with 4 (8.3%) of the asymptomatic carriers. The difference was statistically significant at the 0.001 level. Anti-HD was present in 14 out of 24 (58.3%) subjects with histological diagnosis of chronic active hepatitis, 4 of 9 (44.9%) with cirrhosis, and 3 out of 11 (27.2%) with chronic persistent hepatitis. This study points to a high prevalence of hepatitis delta virus in Egypt.