[Acute non-A non-B viral hepatitis]

Thirty-one patients HBs Ag negative seen between january 1978 and june 1980 were studied. Twenty-four of them were males and seven females. Their age ranged between 13 and 58 years. All of them were anti-HAV IgM negative. Six patients presented simultaneously Anti HBc and Anti HBs in the two first weeks of the illness. This fact could be imputed to an acquired immunity due to a previous infection with virus B. None of the patients studied had evidence of infectious mononucleosis or cytomegalovirus. In view of the absence of the markers of recent infection due to virus A and B these patients were considered to have a non A non B hepatitis. Twelve patients had evidence of previous hepatitis, thirteen had acquired the infection by parenteral route; four were post-transfusional and in six cases there was an epidemic medium. Forty-five percent of the patients studied had a biphasic elevation of the aminotransferases, and twenty percent had a cholestatic form. Two of the patients turned into a chronic active hepatitis and another one died of submasive necrosis; in both cases the via of infection was parenteral.