Delta agent infection in patients with chronic liver diseases and hepatocellular carcinoma--an infrequent finding in Taiwan.

Taiwanese have a high prevalence of HBsAg carrier rate and chronic liver diseases. To evaluate the role of delta (delta) agent infection in our patients, 45 HBsAg-positive patients with chronic active hepatitis, 4 with chronic persistent hepatitis and 11 with HBsAg-positive hepatocellular carcinoma were studied for delta antibody by radioimmunoassay of serum; liver was studied for delta antigen by immunofluorescence in 23 patients. delta Antibody was only found in three patients with chronic active hepatitis (6.7%); the prevalence was 5% in HBsAg-positive chronic liver diseases and hepatocellular carcinoma. None of the liver specimens studied had delta antigen. The study indicates that delta agent infection does not seem to play an important role in chronic liver diseases and hepatocarcinoma in Chinese who live in Taiwan, despite a high prevalence of chronic hepatitis B virus infection.