Sera collected in 1973-1975 from 3053 residents of 12 selected Alaskan Eskimo villages were tested for evidence of hepatitis B virus infection. Overall, hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) was found in 6.4% of those tested. Evidence of hepatitis B infection (positive for HBsAg or antibody to hepatitis B surface antigen (anti-HBs] varied considerably by village, from 4.6% to 69.9%, and increased with advancing age. The proportion with HBsAg was significantly higher in those under the age of 13 years, and the male/female ratio varied from 0.9 to 1.5 to 1.5 in the prepubertal, postpubertal-premenopausal, and postmenopausal age groups, respectively. The prevalence of hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) in HBsAg-positive persons decreased with advancing age, and conversely, the prevalence of antibody to hepatitis B e antigen (anti-HBe) increased with age. Hepatitis B infection was found to be sporadically distributed, with great village-to-village variation and further variation by household within most villages. The high HBsAg and HBeAg seropositivity observed in children suggests that children are both more recently infected with hepatitis B and are more involved in hepatitis B transmission in these villages.

Serological markers for hepatitis B virus in male homosexuals demonstrated a high prevalence of past and present infection. Seropositivity of 91% for hepatitis B e antigen or antibody was demonstrated by radioimmunoassay in hepatitis B surface antigen-positive specimens.

Journal Article Comparative Risk of Hepatitis B among Physicians and Dentists Get access J. L. Smith, J. L. Smith Bureau of Epidemiology Phoenix Laboratories Division Please address requests for reprints to Dr. J. L. Smith, Bureau of Epidemiology, Phoenix Laboratories Division, Center for Disease Control, 4402 North Seventh Street, Phoenix, Arizona 85014. Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic PubMed Google Scholar J. E. Maynard, J. E. Maynard Bureau of Epidemiology Phoenix Laboratories Division Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic PubMed Google Scholar K. R. Berquist, K. R. Berquist Bureau of Epidemiology Phoenix Laboratories Division Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic PubMed Google Scholar I. L. Doto, I. L. Doto Bureau of Epidemiology Phoenix Laboratories Division Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic PubMed Google Scholar H. M. Webster, H. M. Webster Bureau of Epidemiology Phoenix Laboratories Division Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic PubMed Google Scholar M. J. Sheller M. J. Sheller Bureau of Epidemiology Phoenix Laboratories Division Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic PubMed Google Scholar The Journal of Infectious Diseases, Volume 133, Issue 6, June 1976, Pages 705–706, https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/133.6.705 Published: 01 June 1976

Culex tarsalis and Aedes aegypti mosquitoes were fed on chimpanzees carrying hepatitis B surface antigen (HBS Ag) of known infectivity and pools were tested by radioimmunoassay daily for the presence of HBS Ag. HBS Ag continued to be detected at low levels in mosquito tissue after digestion of the blood meal. Inoculation of susceptible chimpanzees with macerated pools of A. aegypti mosquitoes at two intervals after digestion of the blood meal did not produce hepatitis or serologic evidence of hepatitis B virus infection. Mechanical transmission studies by interrupting feeding of A aegypti from HBS Ag-carrier chimpanzees and transferring them to susceptible chimpanzees did not produce hepatitis. These findings do not support the hypothesis that mosquitoes are involved in either biological or mechanical transmission of hepatitis B.