Prevalence of anti-delta antibodies in central India.

: A total of 238 sera samples from cases of hepatitis, renal failure, thalassaemia, healthy health care workers (HCWs) & asymptomatic HBsAG carriers coming from central India from July 1992 to June 1998, were screened for anti-delta antibodies. Among 238 subjects, 206 were reactive for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) while 32 were HBsAg non-reactive. The prevalence of anti-delta antibodies was low (1.9%) among 54 patients of acute viral hepatitis (AVH) while it was higher (5.7%) among 52 patients of chronic liver disease (CLD). The anti-delta antibodies positivity among 34 patients with hepatic failure was around 15% and all of them were FHF patients. Among multitransfused subjects such as chronic renal failure (CRF) the prevalence of anti-delta antibodies was low (2.3%). None of the apparently healthy HBsAg reactive HCWs and asymptomatic HBV carriers were reactive for anti-delta antibodies. Similarly anti-delta antibodies could not be detected in HBsAg negative viral hepatitis patients. There is a wide variation in the prevalence of anti-delta antibodies in different parts of India. However, overall prevalence of anti-delta antibodies appears to be lower in the Indian population in comparision to western countries.