Hepatitis B infection in Vietnamese families

The occurrence of hepatitis B infection as measured by sensitive serological tests for HBsAg, HBeAg and hepatitis B-specific antibodies was studied in Vietnamese refugee families. HBsAg was found in 10% of 301 children studied. Totally 74% of all HBsAg-positive children had an HBsAg-positive mother or father and an additional 7% had a positive sibling. The distribution of these cases indicated that the risk of HBs-antigenemia was increased 11-fold for those who had an HBsAg-positive mother compared with all other children. The presence of HBeAg in the HBsAg-positive parents was associated with a threefold higher risk of HBs-antigenemia in children as compared with the presence of anti-HBe. It was thus documented that HBV in this population is spread primarily by intrafamilial routes and prophylactic measures within risk families should largely be able to control the appearance of new HBsAg carriers.