Hepatitis D infection can only occur together with hepatitis B infection, or in those already infected with hepatitis B. Patients with HBV-HDV coinfection generally have a more severe acute disease and a higher rate of chronic hepatitis than those with hepatitis B alone. Its relevance in the injecting drug using population is that it is transmitted by the same routes as hepatitis B; thus carriers of hepatitis B should be advised of the risks of contracting hepatitis D through continued injecting drug use, thus exposing themselves to the risk of a more severe response to infection.
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The above information is copyright of Dr Bruce Trathen MBBS MRCPsych (2006). ISBN 0-9545164-0-0. The author grants permission for these guidelines to be downloaded, copied and distributed freely, but does not grant permission for their sale.
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