Endemicity And Genetic Diversity of Hepatitis Delta Virus Among Pygmies In Cameroon, Central Africa.

Abstract A single study conducted two decades ago on hepatitis delta virus (HDV) infections among Baka Pygmies in Cameroon reported a very high antibody prevalence of 46%, but HDV genetic diversity has not yet been studied in this remote population. In the present study, we investigated the HDV seroprevalence and the genotype diversity in the three main Cameroonian Pygmy populations with chronic HBV infection. An unusually high (69.2%) level of HDV infection was found among HBsAg-positive Pygmies in Cameroon. Phylogenetic analyses showed the co-circulation of highly diverse HDV genotypes HDV-1 and HDV-7 in this population. These results highlighted the endemicity of HDV infection in Central Africa and suggest an african origin of HDV.