Co-infection with hepatitis delta increases risk of death for patients with HIV and chronic hepatitis B

Infection with hepatitis delta virus is associated with an increased risk of death for HIV-positive patients with chronic hepatitis B infection, European research published in the online edition of AIDS shows.

“In our study we reported for the first time that hepatitis delta was…predictive of increased risk of liver-related death and overall mortality in HIV patients,” write the investigators, who recommend that all HIV-positive patients with chronic hepatitis B infection should be tested for the infection.

Hepatitis delta (HDV) is the most aggressive form of chronic hepatitis infection in humans. Worldwide, between 15 and 20 million individuals carry the virus, including 5% of patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection (HBV).

HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis delta all share modes of transmission, including sex transmission, injecting drug use and from a mother to her baby. However, little information is available on the prevalence of the infection in patients with HIV. Nor are its epidemiology, viral characteristics, and natural history well understood.

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