Seroprevalence and Molecular Detection of Hepatitis Delta Virus (HDV) Among Hemodialysis Patients and Blood Donors in a CrossSectional Study in Khartoum State, Sudan

The hepatitis delta virus (HDV) was first discovered by Rizzetto in 1977 in a patient with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. In 1980, it was shown that HDV was an infectious agent responsible for exacerbation of liver disease in patients with hepatitis. The aim of this study was to determine the seroreactivity of, and to molecularly detect, HDV among hemodialysis patients and blood donors in Khartoum state, Sudan, during the period January 2012 to July 2013. Two hundred and seventysix plasma samples were collected from hepatitis B surface antigenpositive (HBsAg) patients in Khartoum state. Of these patients, 98 (64 males and 34 females) were hemodialysis patients, and 178 (178 males) were from blood donors. The sera were screened for HBsAg to confirm positivity for HBV, HDV IgG and IgM antibodies using commercial ELISA and HDV RNA using seminested RTPCR. The results showed that 16.0% (16/100) had antibodies against HDV IgG, while only 13.0% (13/100) had HDV IgM antibodies among hemodialysis patients, while 4.5% (8/178) had antibodies against IgG, and 2.8% (5/178) had IgM antibodies among blood donors. HDV RNA was detected in 13.2% (13/98) of hemodialysis patients; of these 12.2% (7) were male, and 17.6% (6) were female. The high prevalence of HDV in Khartoum State was documented through detection of HDVspecific antibodies and viral RNA. Further studies using various diagnostic methods should be considered to determine the incidence and the common genotype of HDV disease at the country level.