[Incidence of hepatitis B, C and D infection in chronic liver diseases]

The authors tested hepatitis B (HBsAg, anti-HBs, anti-HBc, IgM anti-HBc, HBe, anti-HBe), C (anti-HCV) and D (anti-HD, IgM anti-HD) virus markers in the sera of 204 patients, who suffered from histologically confirmed chronic liver diseases (age: 18-72, average: 46.8 y) by Sorin Biomedica RIA and Abbott ELISA kits. On the basis of detailed virus serological tests, they obtained data indicating viral etiology in 62% of the cases. 33.3% of the patients were anti-HCV, 52.5% of the patients were HBV marker seropositive and 11.2% of the HBV seropositive cases were anti-HD seropositive. In 2% of the cases seropositivity of all the three viruses was proved. In 26% of the patients seropositivity of two viruses (HBV and HCV, or HBV and HDV) was proved. They observed severe, progressing liver diseases in patients with HBV, HCV and HDV marker seropositivity in a higher ratio than in seronegative patients. In the cases of combined virus marker seropositivity the incidence rate of chronic hepatitis and liver cirrhosis was higher than in only HBV marker seropositive patients, but did not differ significantly from those only anti-HCV seropositive. In the cases of fought-off HBV infection the severity of the liver disease was milder than in the cases of replication and integration stage. Anti-HD seropositivity occurred in all stages of HBV infection, but active HDV infection, in most of the cases, was observed only in cases in the integration stage. Anti-HCV seropositivity was observed mainly in the fought-off HBV infection stage. Their results suggest that HCV infection, like HDV infection, may suppress HBV replication.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)