ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTION Hepatitis B Surface Antigen and Antibody among Chronic Hemodialysis Patients in Fukuoka, Japan : A High Risk for Becoming Hepatitis B Virus Carriers

The hepatitis B virus surface antigen (HBsAg) and its antibody (anti-HBs) were evaluated among 262 chronic hemodialysis patients in two hemodialysis units located in Fukuoka, Japan in 1990. The anti-HBs positive rate was found to be significantly higher in patients with blood transfusion than in those without it (38.0% vs. 25.0%, p<0.05), which suggested that blood transfusion may thus be a major route of Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in HD units. However, the ratio of the observed number of anti-HBs positive HD patients and the expected number calculated from healthy inhabitants (O/E ratio) was significantly low (0/E=0.73, p<0.01) while the O/E ratio of HBsAg was significantly high (O/E=2.0, p<0.05). These results therefore indicate that HD patients possess a high risk of becoming HBV carriers. J Epidemiol, 1994; 4 : 99-102.

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