Hepatitis D

October 2007     View PDF     En español

Hepatitis D is a liver disease caused by the hepatitis D virus, or HDV. It cannot cause illness on its own. HDV needs to use parts of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) to grow, so HBV must be present for HDV to make people sick. When a person gets both of them at the same time, it is called co-infection. When a person gets HDV after already having HBV, it is called super-infection.

Hepatitis D acts a lot like hepatitis B. It is passed in similar ways and it can cause both short-term (acute) and lifelong (chronic) disease. However, because it lives with HBV at the same time, the acute and chronic disease that HDV causes tends to be more severe than in people who only have HBV.

Hepatitis is a major health issue for many people living with HIV. It is inflammation and swelling of the liver. It can lead to liver scarring (cirrhosis), cancer, liver failure, liver transplant and even death. Hepatitis can also be caused by other viruses, bacteria, alcohol, legal and illegal drugs, among others. For people living with HIV, having both HDV and HBV can pose special problems.

This publication provides information on HDV. Other materials are also available from Project Inform. They include Towards a Healthy Liver, Hepatitis and HIV Disease, Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C.