Hepatitis D Remains an Overlooked Threat for People Living with Hepatitis B

BEIJING, July 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- On World Hepatitis Day, the 2026 campaign calls for breaking down barriers to hepatitis testing, treatment and care. Hepatitis D (HDV), the most severe form of chronic viral hepatitis, occurs only in people living with hepatitis B. WHO estimates that about 12 million people worldwide live with HDV. Yet the disease remains widely underrecognized.

Russia's Asian regions and neighboring Mongolia face a shared HDV challenge. National-level epidemiological data remains limited, meaning the true burden may be underestimated. Available evidence nevertheless points to a serious problem. A recent review found HDV in about one in four hepatitis B patients studied in hospital and liver-clinic cohorts in Russia's Asian regions. The scale of the challenge is also evident across the border in Mongolia, where a 2024 study estimated that 71,600 people were living with active HDV infection.

Early diagnosis is particularly important because HDV can progress rapidly: one global analysis found progression to cirrhosis in about five years and liver cancer in about 10 years, on average. Yet access to confirmatory HDV RNA testing remains limited in many low- and middle-income countries, leaving infections undiagnosed and the true burden difficult to measure. Treatment options are also scarce. As of July 2026, only two HDV-specific therapies have received regulatory approval worldwide, and availability remains uneven across many high-burden regions.

With HDV-specific treatment unavailable or difficult to access closer to home, some patients from Mongolia, Pakistan and other neighboring countries have traveled to Beijing, Urumqi and other Chinese cities for care.

Greater public awareness, wider testing and continued scientific exchange are needed to bring HDV out of the shadows and help more people receive timely diagnosis and care.

"Improving hepatitis D care will require sustained cooperation across the region," said Bin Chen, CEO of Huahui Health. "We remain committed to working with partners on scientific exchange and clinical research so that progress can ultimately benefit more patients."