HEPATITIS B and D SURVEY

Chronic hepatitis D is considered to be the most aggressive form of viral hepatitis because of its accelerated progression to liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma compared with Chronic hepatitis B mono-infection. It is estimated that 1.6 million [95% CI 1.1–2.5] people are living with hepatitis D-HBV co-infections in the WHO Africa region with high prevalence reported from countries in western and central Africa. In view of the WHO recommendation of reflex testing for Hepatitis D if HBsAg positive and the development of effective therapies for Hepatitis D, it is important to establish the prevalence of Chronic Hepatitis D within different regions of Africa. This will require access to anti-HDV serology to demonstrate exposure followed by confirmatory HDV RNA testing to diagnose active infection. This survey aims to establish the access to Hepatitis D diagnostics, the prevalence of Hepatitis B and the status of hepatitis B vaccination programmes in different countries within Africa.

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