Hepatitis D

Hepatitis D is a type of viral hepatitis caused by the hepatitis delta virus (HDV), a small particle that is like viroid and virusoid (plant viruses) that affects the liver, mainly the liver. 

HDV is one of five known hepatitis viruses: A, B, C, D, and E. HDV is considered to be a satellite because it can appear if the hepatitis B virus (HBV) is present. It is said to be "defective" because it needs the hepatitis B virus to produce symptoms, otherwise it is harmless. The World Health Organisation (WHO) recently classified HDV as a class 1 carcinogen. It can cause liver cancer and liver cirrhosis.  

References

Category:Diseases caused by viruses
Category:Liver disease
Category:Carcinogens