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Delta hepatitis in kiribati: A pacific focus
Author(s) -
Tibbs C. J.
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
journal of medical virology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 121
eISSN - 1096-9071
pISSN - 0146-6615
DOI - 10.1002/jmv.1890290210
Subject(s) - virology , focus (optics) , geography , biology , optics , physics
From the Pacific Republic of Kiribati, 90/130 (69%) of hepatitis B‐infected individuals carry antibodies to hepatitis delta virus. The prevalence of delta infection varied between geographically isolated subgroups in the population and delta antibodies were found more frequently in subjects over the age of 10. It is unlikely that delta superinfection in this population is associated with an acute hepatitic illness. The prevalence of delta infection is the highest recorded from the Pacific region and thus migrants from Kiribati may have provided the source of infection in other populations in this region.