SEROEPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDY OF HEPATITIS-DELTA VIRUS-INFECTION IN OKINAWA, JAPAN

A seroepidemiological study on hepatitis delta virus (HDV) infection w as conducted in the Okinawan islands, the area of Japan where hepatiti s B virus infection is most prevalent. The subjects of this study incl uded 116 asymptomatic hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) carriers, 48 patients with chronic hepatitis (CH), 19 with liver cirrhosis (LC), a nd 11 with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Among the 194 serum samples examined, a total of 10 (5.2%) were anti-HDV seropositive. Anti-HDV w as detected in 2 (1.7%) of the 116 asymptomatic HBsAg carriers, in 3 ( 6.3%) of the 48 patients with CH, and in 5 (26.3%) of the 19 with LC. However, none of the patients with HCC had detectable anti-HDV. Eight of the 10 were born in the Miyako island group and the remaining 2 on the main island of Okinawa. Since the subjects included 34 individuals who were living and/or born in the Miyako islands, the positive rate of anti-HDV in the islands was 23.5%. This study demonstrates the exis tence of an endemic area of HDV infection in Japan. (C) 1995 Wiley-Lis s, Inc.