[Acute virus hepatitis and venereal infection (author's transl)]

100 patients with acute viral hepatitis were examined. In 10 of these the infection was found to be associated with homosexual activity and in 7 with promiscuity. Sexual intercourse was a likely cause of infection in 61% of all men aged from 20-40 years who had contracted hepatitis B by a non-parenteral route. Of these patients, 8 had acute syphilis and 2 had acute gonorrhea along with their hepatitis. The clinical course of the hepatitis was more severe in the group of syphilitic patients than in the controls. These observations indicate that simultaneous venereal disease influences the incidence and course of acute viral hepatitis.