Prevalence of hepatitis delta antibody among HBsAg carriers in Saudi Arabia

BACKGROUND: There are a paucity of data available on the exact prevalence of delta hepatitis among HBsAg positive carriers in Saudi Arabia. The aim of this study was to determine the exact prevalence of delta antibody in HBsAg positive carriers in Saudi Arabia. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between January 1996 and January 1997 the serum of 19 250 patients was tested for HBsAg. HBsAg positive sera were subsequently tested for delta antibody. In addition, 3147 healthy blood donors underwent HBsAg testing. Those who were HBsAg positive had delta antibody testing using the ELISA method. RESULTS: Among 19 250 patients, 780 (4.1 %) were HBsAg positive, of which 67 (8.6%) patients were anti-delta positive and 2 (0.25%) were anti-delta borderline. Among 3147 healthy donors, 60 (1.9%) were HBsAg positive with 2 (3.3%) being delta antibody positive. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of delta antibody among hospital- and clinic-based HBsAg positive patients was 8.6% and among healthy blood donors who were HBsAg positive, the prevalence was 3.3%. Furthermore, delta antibody prevalence was 0.06% for “all comers”, i.e., healthy blood donors. With decreasing hepatitis B prevalence as a result of universal vaccination, it is expected that delta hepatitis infection among Saudis will decrease with time.