Detection and genotyping of hepatitis D virus from HBsAg positive patients in Iran using RT-PCR

Hepatitis Delta virus (HDV) is a degenerate RNA virus or virusoid and a satellite of Hepatitis B virus (HBV). Three distinct genotypes are described for HDV; genotype I is distributed worldwide but other genotypes appear to be more restricted geographically. In the present study, an RT-nested PCR method was set up to detect delta infection from serum samples. Moreover, the target amplified sequences corresponding to the Hepatitis delta antigen (HDAg) C-termini were used for genotyping. The results showed that 63.6% (23 of 36) of (HDAb) positive serum samples (as determined by ELISA) were also positive for HDV-RNA. Sequencing and phylogenic analysis of three Iranian HDV isolates revealed the most homology (93%) with an Italian isolate indicating a close relationship and probably a common origin for these isolates.