Prevalance of antibody to hepatitis B surface antigen in various populations

Sera from individuals with different degrees of exposure to the agent of hepatitis B were tested for antibodies to hepatitis B surface antigen (anti-HB-s) by passive hemagglutination and for hepatitis B surface antigen (HB-s Ag) by radioimmunoassay and immunoelectroosmophoresis. In a plasma fractionation plant, anti-HB-s was detected in 82 percent of workers processing human plasma and 3.3 percent were healthy carriers of the antigen. Fifty-six percent of the workers having only casual contact with plasma processing exhibited anti-HB-s and 24 percent of workers with no contact had anti-HB-s, yet HB-s Ag was not found in either of these two groups of workers. A similar correlation was shown in hospital personnel; 31 percent of employees with direct contact to serum specimens and only 8 percent without direct contact had anti-HB-s. The frequency of HB-s Ag (0.8 percent in patients with disorders not involving the liver; 49.8 percent in patients tentatively diagnosed as viral hepatitis) and anti-HB-s (14.5 percent to 28.5 percent, respectively) in selected groups of hospitalized patients varied greatly. In 508 paid blood donors, anti-HB-s was present in 19.9 percent, whereas it was present in only 6.6 percent of 1,146 volunteer donors. These data demonstrate a correlation between frequency of exposure to human blood or blood products and the prevalence of anti-HB-s.