Abstract
Fifty male and fifty female healthy Nigerians were screened for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAG). Results were positive in five men and four women. HBsAg was detected in samples of semen of three male HBsAg carriers and in menstrual blood of four female carriers. Seven of the carriers had detectable hepatitis B core antibody in their serum; of these carriers, two semen and two menstrual blood samples were also positive for this antibody. In none of these subjects did we detect e-antigen or its antibody in either the serum, semen or menstrual blood. It is concluded that the presence of the antibody to hepatitis B core antigen, which is a marker of persistent viral replication and of infectivity, further reinforces the role of sexual transmission in the propagation of hepatitis B virus infection in the tropics.
Published Version
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