Int. J. Pure Appl. Sci. Technol., 28(1) (2015), pp. 1-7 International Journal of Pure and Applied Sciences and Technology ISSN 2229 - 6107 Available online at www.ijopaasat.in Research Paper The Prevalence of Hepatitis D Virus Infection amongst Patients with Chronic Active Hepatitis B Virus Infection in Duhok Governorate Nawfal R. Hussein 1,* , Ziad A. Rasheed 2 , Ali A. Taha 3 and Sabri K. Shaikhow 1 1 The Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medical Science, School of Medicine, University of Duhok, Duhok, Kurdistan Region, Iraq 2 Azadi Teaching Hospital, General Directorate of Health-Duhok, Duhok, Kurdistan Region, Iraq 3 The Department of Infection Control, General Directorate of Health-Duhok, Duhok, Kurdistan Region, Iraq * Corresponding author, e-mail: (doctornrs@yahoo.com) (Received: 25-3-15; Accepted: 29-4-15) Abstract: Hepatitis D virus (HDV) is a small RNA containing virus requiring concomitant infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV) for its survival and pathogenicity. The aim of this research was to study the prevalence of HDV in patients with chronic active hepatitis B in Duhok city, Iraq. Cases of chronic active HBV infection were selected retrospectively using case sheets in hepatitis unit in Azadi teaching hospital. Then, using ELISA, the anti-HDV IgM and IgG positivity was studied. Amongst 1500 registered patients, 158 cases met the criteria of chronic active HBV. The majority were male113/158 (71.5%) and from Duhok district105/158 (66.5%). Additionally, the majority of the patients were young with an age average of 30.5±13.8 years. HDV IgM and IgG positivity was studied in 46 randomly selected patients with chronic active HBV. It was found that 3/45 (6.6%) patients were positive for anti-HDV IgM. All these patients were male. None of the tested patients was positive for IgG. The prevalence of HDV in Duhok was lower than that found elsewhere in Iraq. More studies are needed to explore the prevalence of HDV in chronic carriers and in chronic active HBV but with larger sample recruitment. Keywords: HDV, HBV, Duhok.