Seroepidemiological study of HBV infections in Athens, Greece

A seroepidemiological survey of a sample-roughly representative by age and sex - of 2744 persons of the Greater Athens area revealed that hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections are highly endemic in Greece. Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) was detected in 72(2-6%) of them. The subtype was identified in 70 of the 72 carriers, and 69 were ay; the other was ad. Determinant w was present in all 61 that were capable of being typed further, and a23y(w) was twice as common as a11y(w). Antibody to HBsAg (anti-HBs) was found in 514 (18-7%) persons. The prevalence of the HBsAg rose rapidly with age, reaching peak values (5-3%) at 20-29 years, while anti-HBs reached its highest value (42-1%) in older age groups (50-59 years). The frequency of HBsAg was significantly higher in males (3-4%) than in females (1-5%). The percentage of infected persons who become chronic HBsAg carriers (12-3%) was found higher than in other developed populations. It was also found higher in children (25%) than in adults (5-5%) and in males (14-6%) than in females (8-1%). These data indicate that HBV infection in early life is a major risk factor in the development of HBsAg carriers and support the hypothesis that males are more likely to become HBsAg carriers than females.