Hepatitis B antigenaemia on Wuvulu Island

A survey of the population of Wuvulu Island was undertaken to determine the prevalence of hepatitis B antigenaemia (HBsAg). Seventy-five percent of the population were tested, and 17.7% of those tested were positive for HBsAg. The percentage of positive sera increased with age but declined in the 5th decade of life. There was a marked difference in positivity between the two villages on the island (25.9% and 9.9%) which cannot be explained by several existing hypotheses for HBsAg transmission.