Advances and Challenges in Managing Hepatitis D Virus: Evolving Strategies

Abstract

Purpose of Review Hepatitis D Virus (HDV), although a small defective virus, poses a substantial public health challenge due to lack of awareness, underrecognized prevalence, and limited treatment options. Universal HDV screening within hepatitis B virus (HBV) cohorts is essential to address this issue. Despite its aggressive nature, effective HDV therapies have remained elusive for over four decades. Recent Findings Advances in understanding HDV’s biology and clinical behavior offer potential therapeutic breakthroughs, fostering optimism. As insights grow, effective and targeted therapies are being developed to improve HDV management. Summary This review delves into HDV’s intricate structure and biology, highlighting formidable hurdles in antiviral development. It emphasizes the importance of widespread screening, exploring noninvasive diagnostics, and examining current and emerging innovative therapeutic strategies. Moreover, the review explores models for monitoring treatment response. In essence, this review simplifies the complexities of effectively combating HDV.

Hepatitis C Virus as a Possible Helper Virus in Human Hepatitis Delta Virus Infection

“…It must be said that in our sample, despite the high positive anti-HD titer, HDV-RNA could not be detected, which means that HDV, at the time of collection, was not in an active replicative phase [ 42 ]. This situation may be explained by the previous eradication of HCV as a result of the antiviral therapy with DAA; in other words, SVR in this situation would imply the simultaneous total suppression of HDV replication as well.…”