Down's syndrome and hepatitis: an evaluation of carrier status

Literature citations show that institutionalized people with Down's syndrome have a significantly higher incidence of positive hepatitis B antigen (HBsAg) than mentally handicapped people who do not have Down's syndrome. A review of 2,136 institutionalized mentally handicapped people in Georgia shows that 27% of residents who have Down's syndrome and 7% of the residents who do not have Down's syndrome tested positive for HBsAg. Forty-nine people with Down's syndrome living in the community were screened for HBsAg. Only one (3%) of 37 of the people who had never lived in an institution tested positive for HBsAg. The implication is that patients with Down's syndrome who have never been institutionalized should be treated no differently than any person in the general population who is not suspected of being a transmitter of an infectious disease.