Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Is Slovakia Almost a Hepatitis D Free Country?

Pavol Kristian
ORCID logo ,
Ivana Hockicková
* ORCID logo ,
Elena Hatalová
ORCID logo ,
Daniela Žilinčanová
,
Marek Rác
,
Veronika Bednárová
,
Patrícia Denisa Lenártová
,
Sylvia Dražilová
ORCID logo ,
Ľubomír Skladaný
ORCID logo ,
Ivan Schréter
,
Peter Jarčuška
,
Monika Halánová
ORCID logo
Version 1 : Received: 25 July 2023 / Approved: 26 July 2023 / Online: 27 July 2023 (10:26:46 CEST)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Kristian, P.; Hockicková, I.; Hatalová, E.; Žilinčanová, D.; Rác, M.; Bednárová, V.; Lenártová, P.D.; Dražilová, S.; Skladaný, Ľ.; Schréter, I.; Jarčuška, P.; Halánová, M. Is Slovakia Almost a Hepatitis D Free Country? Viruses 2023, 15, 1695. Kristian, P.; Hockicková, I.; Hatalová, E.; Žilinčanová, D.; Rác, M.; Bednárová, V.; Lenártová, P.D.; Dražilová, S.; Skladaný, Ľ.; Schréter, I.; Jarčuška, P.; Halánová, M. Is Slovakia Almost a Hepatitis D Free Country? Viruses 2023, 15, 1695.

Abstract

Background: It is assumed that the prevalence of hepatitis D in HBsAg-positive individuals reaches 4.5-13% in the world, and on average about 3% in Europe. Data from several European countries, including Slovakia, are missing or are from an older period. Methods: We analyzed all available data on hepatitis D from Slovakia, including reports from the Slovak Public Health Authority and the results of one prospective study, and three smaller surveys. The determination of anti-HDV IgG and IgM antibodies and/or HDV RNA was used to detect hepatitis D. Results: In the years 2005-2022, no confirmed case of acute or chronic HDV infection was reported in Slovakia. The presented survey includes a total of 343 patients, of which 126 were asymptomatic HBsAg carriers, 33 acute hepatitis B, and 184 chronic hepatitis B cases. In a recent prospective study of 206 HBsAg-positive patients who were completely serologically and virologically examined for hepatitis B and D, only 1 anti-HDV IgG positive and no anti-HDV IgM or HDV RNA positive cases were detected. In other smaller surveys, 2 anti-HDV IgG positive patients were found without the possibility of HDV RNA confirmation. In total, only 3 of 329 HBsAg-positive patients (0.91%) tested positive for anti-HDV IgG antibodies and none of 220 tested positive for HDV RNA. Conclusion: The available data show that Slovakia is one of the countries with a very low prevalence of HDV infection reaching less than 1% in HBsAg-positive patients. Routine testing for hepatitis D is lacking in Slovakia, and therefore it is necessary to implement testing of all HBsAg-positive individuals according to international recommendations.

Keywords

hepatitis D; prevalence; anti-HDV antibody; HDV RNA

Subject

Medicine and Pharmacology, Epidemiology and Infectious Diseases

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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