HB-Ag in sweat

Thirty patients were studied at the Hacettepe University Medical Center. Ten patients had hepatic cirrhosis, 20 patients had viral hepatitis. HB-Ag in the serum was positive in all patients by the counterimmunoelectrophoresis method. One and a half milliliters of sweat was collected from each patient, dried and dissolved in 0.2 ml. of buffer solution. HB-Ag was positive in all patients by radioimmunoassay method. This study indicates that direct contact is one of the most important factors in the epidemiology of the disease and this may even be more important in asymptomatic carriers.