ABSTRACT
One or more serologic markers of hepatitis B were detected in serum samples from 29 of 61 (48%) Nigerian children between ages 6 months and 2 years who were followed for three months. Eight (13%) had acute infections, nine (15%) had chronic infections, and 12 (20%) had transplacentally acquired maternal antibody. Of 17 with active hepatitis B, 13 had been infected prior to the first serum sample (76% of infections) and four were infected during the three months of this study (24% of infections). These data indicate that effective intervention at an early age would have prevented 24% of the HBV infections which occurred in these infants, and intervention soon after birth might have prevented all of the cases.
Subject(s)
Hepatitis B/prevention & control , Immunoglobulins/therapeutic use , Viral Vaccines , Age Factors , Child, Preschool , Hepatitis B/immunology , Hepatitis B/transmission , Hepatitis B Antibodies/isolation & purification , Hepatitis B Core Antigens/isolation & purification , Hepatitis B Surface Antigens/isolation & purification , Hepatitis B virus , Humans , Infant , NigeriaABSTRACT
Over a seven-year period, we monitored 221 patients with chronic hepatitis from two medical centers. By using the counterlectrophoresis (CEP) test to detect the presence of HBsAg and anti-HBc, or both, we established that 87.7% of them had hepatitis B infection. Serum specimens originally found negative for HBsAg by CEP were further tested by reversed passive hemagglutination (RPH), and those originally found negative for anti-HBc by CEP were further tested by radioimmunoassay (RIA). Five patients were anti-HBc-positive and HBs-Ag-negative. No sex predominance was observed, but HBsAg incidence increased with increasing age. The HBeAg antigen was detected in 46.8% of the 161 cases tested for it; the most frequent subtype found was adw (63.7%). The present findings indicate that HBV infection largely contributes to the development of chronic hepatitis in Argentinian patients.
Subject(s)
Hepatitis B/epidemiology , Hepatitis/epidemiology , Adolescent , Adult , Age Factors , Aged , Argentina , Child , Child, Preschool , Chronic Disease , Counterimmunoelectrophoresis , Diagnosis, Differential , Female , Hemagglutination Tests , Hepatitis B/diagnosis , Hepatitis B Antibodies/analysis , Hepatitis B Surface Antigens/analysis , Humans , Infant , Male , Middle Aged , RadioimmunoassayABSTRACT
Twenty-four infants cared for by a nurse who developed acute B hepatitis with HBsAg present in her serum and saliva were examined for serologic evidence of hepatitis B virus transmission. None of the infants had HBsAg by radioimmunoassay or anti-HBc by complement fixation. One infant had anti-HBs whose transient presence was consistent with passive acquisition. Using sensitive serologic tests, no identifiable risk to newborn infants in a special care nursery could be documented as a result of exposure to a nurse who developed acute type B hepatitis during their period of care.
Subject(s)
Cross Infection , Hepatitis B/transmission , Infant, Newborn, Diseases/etiology , Nurseries, Hospital , Nursing Staff, Hospital , Female , Hepatitis B/immunology , Hepatitis B Surface Antigens/analysis , Humans , Infant, Newborn , Saliva/analysisABSTRACT
Eighteen women who developed type B hepatitis late in pregnancy or early in the postpartum period (Groups I and II), 12 women who were chronically infected with the hepatitis B virus (Groups III and IV), and 32 of their offspring were tested for hepatits B surface antigen, antibody to the hepatitis B surface antigen, antibody to the hepatitis B core antigen, and the recently discovered hepatitis B-associated e antigen and its antibody. Twelve of 18 infants born to Group I and Group II mothers and 5 of 14 infants born to Group III and Group IV mothers became chronically infected with HBV: the outcome did not appear to be influenced by maternal anti-HBc titers, by HBsAg subtype, by the presence or absence of HBsAg in the cord sera, or by the infants' birth weights or gestational ages. The presence of maternal e Ag, however, did correlate with the development of chronic HBV infections in the infants studied. The e Ag appeared in five infants born of e Ag-negative mothers but did not appear to be associated with the morbid prognosis which generally accompanies its presence in adult HBsAg carriers. Data also suggest that maternal anti-e may favor HBsAg clearance and recovery in neonatally acquired HBV infections.
Subject(s)
Hepatitis B/immunology , Infant, Newborn, Diseases/immunology , Pregnancy Complications, Infectious/immunology , Adolescent , Adult , Antibody Formation , Birth Weight , Chronic Disease , Female , Gestational Age , Hepatitis B/transmission , Hepatitis B Antigens/analysis , Humans , Infant, Newborn , Maternal-Fetal Exchange , PregnancyABSTRACT
Testing of paired serum samples of 12 children with the Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome for the presence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) antibody to HB, Ag, and antibody to the hepatitis B core antigen revealed evidence of hepatitis B virus infection in three. None of the three, however, developed overt clinical hepatitis or the chronic HBsAg carrier state. These data suggest that the immunologic defects seen in the Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome permit adequate immune responses to the hepatitis B virus and do not predispose to the chronic HBsAg carrier state.