what is hepatitis d, the deadly virus that the who says is carcinogenic?

The World Health Organisation’s International Agency for Research in Cancer (WHO-IARC) has now declared hepatitis D, a little-known but deadly virus, carcinogenic, with the hope that it will lead to increased screening and provide access to innovative treatments.

Characterised by inflammation of the liver – hepatitis D, also known as HVD, is usually caused by the five known hepatitis viruses - A, B, C, D, and E. Among these, only hepatitis B, C, and D can lead to chronic infections that significantly increase the risk of cirrhosis, liver failure, or liver cancer. According to experts, you can get it at the same time as a hepatitis B infection or after you have already been infected with hepatitis B. You cannot get infected with hepatitis D on its own.

“Every 30 seconds, someone dies from a hepatitis-related severe liver disease or liver cancer. Yet we have the tools to stop hepatitis,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. According to the IARC, hepatitis D is linked to a two- to six-fold increased risk of liver cancer in comparison to hepatitis B alone.

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An estimated 48 million people worldwide are afflicted with HDV, which has the greatest death rate of any hepatitis infection at 20 per cent when combined with the hepatitis B virus.

What is hepatitis D?

Experts say a hepatitis D infection can be acute or chronic. Symptoms of an acute infection can come on quickly and last for a few weeks or months. Acute infections can become chronic, which means that your symptoms last longer than six months.

There are two types of hepatitis D infections:

Superinfection

A hepatitis D superinfection happens when you already have an HBV infection and you later become infected with hepatitis D.

Signs and symptoms of the hepatitis D virus

According to experts, the symptoms of hepatitis D are similar to those of other types of hepatitis, which include:

High fever
Belly or abdominal pain
Nausea and vomiting
Loss of appetite
Dark coloured pee
Pale stool
A yellow tinge to your skin or eyes, known as jaundice

What causes hepatitis D?

Doctors say hepatitis virus type D – also known as hepatitis delta- causes hepatitis D and needs the hepatitis B virus to survive and make more copies of itself. You can only get an HDV infection while you already have an HBV infection or at the same time as an initial HBV infection. You can get hepatitis D if you come in contact with infected blood or body fluids through: