“Delta hepatitis is a viral hepatitis supported by the Delta hepatitis virus (Hdv) which lives only in the presence of the hepatitis B virus (Hbv) which supports it in its spread in the liver, therefore it is a co-infection. We we must look for the Hdv infection in the HBsAg positive subject”, i.e. with Hbv infection. “The problem is that the HBsAg positive subject who contracts the delta infection has a much more rapid, much more evolutionary liver disease, therefore from the point of view from a clinical point of view, Delta hepatitis is a serious, rapidly evolving hepatitis that can lead to cirrhosis in a very short time”, said Maurizia Rossana Brunetto, director of the Hepatology Unit, Pisan University Hospital, on the sidelines of the meeting entitled ” The emergence of the underground of infectious diseases in Italy: organizational models in comparison “, dedicated to the study of prevention, screening and ‘linkage to care’ in virology, promoted by Gilead Sciences, and held in Arezzo as part of the Forum risk management.
“The doctor who observes the HBsAg positive subject – continues the professor – must suspect the possibility of a Delta infection”. This criticality “can be solved simply by looking for antibodies against this virus, anti-Delta: if these are positive, he will have to look for the presence of an active infection – looking for HDV RNA – and, if the subject is HDV RNA positive, he will have to be evaluated by the hepatologist to rule out or confirm the presence of liver disease”.
Delta hepatitis “was discovered in Italy by Professor Rizzetto in the 70s and throughout the 80s and 90s there was great attention to this disease – explains Brunetto – because up to 26% of Hbv carriers were positive antideltas”, so they had the infection. “At that time there was an HDV epidemic in Italy. In the following years thanks also to preventive measures and vaccination, the new Delta cases decreased and, gradually, the attention towards HDV was lost”. Today “we must recover the memory of this condition – underlines the hepatologist – because in the population of migrants we also have very high quotas of subjects with Delta infection”. These people “live in Italy and we must therefore identify the sick subjects to follow them over time and, we hope, to treat them with the drugs we have, and which we will have shortly, which are proving to be highly effective in controlling the evolution of the disease” concludes Brunetto.