Context

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) have reclassified the Hepatitis D virus (HDV) as carcinogenic to humans. This places HDV alongside Hepatitis B and C as established causes of liver cancer.

About HDV and Its Global Impact

• Together, Hepatitis B, C, and D affect over 300 million people worldwide and cause approximately 1.3 million deaths annually, primarily due to liver cirrhosis and cancer.
• HDV infects about 5% of chronic Hepatitis B carriers, translating to around 12 million people globally.

High-Risk Groups:

• Populations in Asia, Africa, and the Amazon Basin where Hepatitis B is prevalent
• People who inject drugs
• Patients undergoing haemodialysis

Transmission:
The virus spreads through contact with infected blood, unprotected sexual activity, unsafe injections, and occasionally from mother to child at birth.

Symptoms: Fatigue, nausea, abdominal pain, dark urine, and jaundice.

Treatment:

• Chronic Hepatitis B is managed with lifelong antiviral therapy.
• Bulevirtide, approved in Europe, is a new antiviral used alongside pegylated interferon for treating HDV.

Why is Hepatitis D Particularly Dangerous?

• HDV infects only individuals already carrying Hepatitis B virus.
• Co-infection or superinfection with HDV raises the risk of liver cancer by 2 to 6 times compared to Hepatitis B alone.
• Up to 75% of chronic HDV patients develop liver cirrhosis within 15 years.

Prevention

• No vaccine exists specifically for HDV.
• Universal vaccination and testing for Hepatitis B is essential to eliminate HDV.

Source: Business Standard