Regional Distribution of Hepatitis Delta Virus in Iran: A Systematic Literature Review

Background: Hepatitis delta virus (HDV) is an RNA virus that causes hepatitis. Since HDV is dependent on hepatitis B virus (HBV) for its pathogenesis، two major types of HDV and HBV infection is coinfection with HBV in anti-HBs negative individuals، or superinfection in chronic HBV carriers. Therefore، the prevalence of HDV depends on the frequency of HBV infection in various populations. In this study، we aimed to systematically review the prevalence of HDV in Iran. Materials and Methods: A systematic literature search was performed in August 2016 in PubMed، Scopus، and Iran Medex using the following keywords (((hepatitis delta virus OR HDV)) AND (prevalence OR frequency OR distribution OR epidemiology)) AND Iran to investigate the prevalence of HDV in Iran. After literature search and selection of appropriate documents، the desired data were extracted and described. Results: A total of 14 articles with overall 6300 study population with HDV infection were collected. The results of this study showed that the prevalence of HDV varied from zero in the north to 19.7% in the south of Iran (in HIV infected patients). Conclusions: The prevalence of HDV was relatively high among Iranian patients with chronic HBV infection. Furthermore، the results of this study showed that the prevalence of HBV/HDV coinfection has increased during the last decade in Iran.