Frequency of the occurrence of HBeAg in carriers of hepatitis B surface antigen

An important system of infectiousness in HBsAg positive subjects is HBeAg. The authors examined a total of 145 HBeAg carriers for the presence of HBeAg, using the RIA method. In 88 subjects on records of the District Hygiene Station on account of positive HBsAg HBeAg was present in 25%. In the group of 26 patients included in a regular haemodialyzation programme 92.3% were HBeAg positive. Another group comprises 31 inmates of a social care institute where HBeAg was revealed in 22.58%. Viral hepatitis B in the case-history was recorded in HBeAg positive subjects in 100% of dialyzed patients, in 56.25% of subjects on records of the District Hygiene Station and in 14.28% of the children in social care institutions. The authors discuss the problem of the epidemiological impact of HBeAg positive subjects as possible sources of viral hepatitis type B. Despite the limited importance of HBeAg examinations for the unequivocal assessment of infectiousness of HBsAg/HBeAg positive subjects the authors assume that general availability of HBeAg examination will be a valuable contribution to epidemiological practice.