“Delta hepatitis is a small but dangerous virus, attention is needed on patient estimates”

2023-10-06 17:51:41

“The Delta hepatitis virus is a very small virus, among the smallest viruses that can infect men and women, but it is a highly dangerous virus. It is defined as a satellite virus because it needs to borrow a part of the hepatitis virus hepatitis B to form its own viral particle. We have the transmission of the Delta hepatitis virus through two fundamental methods, exposure to blood or unprotected sexual intercourse. In Italy we must calculate that we are talking about perhaps 6,000 to 10,000 patients but we have to be very careful with the estimates because not all patients with hepatitis B have a Delta test in some cases.” Said Prof. Anna Maria Geretti of the School of Specialization in Infectious Diseases of the University of Rome Tor Vergata.