Hepatitis D virus (HDV) is unique among hepatitis viruses because it:

• A Is transmitted by the faeco-oral route like hepatitis A
• B Contains RNA-dependent RNA polymerase encoded by the host cell
• C Requires HBsAg for its assembly and replication ✓
• D Causes fulminant hepatitis only in pregnant women

Explanation

Hepatitis D is a defective circular RNA virus that uses hepatitis C surface antigen as its envelope protein, so it can infect or replicate only in the presence of HBV infection, occurring either as coinfection or superinfection. It is bloodborne like HBV rather than faeco-orally transmitted, it carries its own delta antigen and relies on host RNA polymerase II rather than encoding one, and high mortality in pregnancy is a feature of hepatitis E, not HDV.

Reference: Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, 21st ed.

High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP

Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.