DETERMINATION OF HEPATITIS-DELTA VIRUS (HDV)-RNA IN ASYMPTOMATIC CASES OF HDV INFECTION

Objectives: To assess the frequency of hepatitis delta virus (HDV) vir emia in asymptomatic eases of HDV infection and the clinical significa nce of the HDV viremia, we conducted a cross-sectional, community-base d study. Methods: Of 2207 examinees, 210 (9.5%) were found to be posit ive for hepatitis B surface antigen (HB-sAg). Antibody to HDV was dete cted in 47 (22.4%) of the 210 examinees, and 43 of the 47 were further evaluated for serum HDV-RNA by polymerase chain reaction. Results: Tw enty-one (48.8%) of the 43 had detectable levels of HDV-RNA in serum, and 22 (51.2%) were negative for serum HDV-RNA, The majority (61.9%) o f the HDV-RNA-positive HBsAg carriers had high levels of serum ALT. in contrast, the frequency of an abnormally high level of serum ALT was only 9.1% in the HBsAg carriers positive for HDV antibody but negative for HDV-RNA, and the frequency did not differ from that seen in the H BsAg-negative individuals. The semiquantified HDV-RNA levels did not c orrelate with the serum ALT levels. Conclusion: Seropositivity of HDV; RNA was strongly associated with liver cell damage, even in asymptoma tic cases. The absence of a detectable level of serum HDV-RNA might be related to previous HDV infection.