Abstract
Hepatitis-B antigen (HBAg) was detected by radioimmunoassay in 17% of engorged mosquitoes and in 1 out of 18 pools of engorged bed bugs caught in the Ivory Coast. Antigen was not found in any pools of gravid or unfed mosquitoes or bed bugs or in any pools of phlebotomine sand flies, black flies, or tsetse flies tested. 6·5% of Ivoiriens living in villages where insect collections were made had HBAg detectable by radioimmunoassay. Detection of antigen in engorged insects but not in gravid or unfed insects suggests that replication of the virus does not occur in these arthropods but that mechanical transmission to the human host may occur. Although it is questionable whether control of blood-sucking insects would significantly affect the high rate of exposure to hepatitis-B infections among indigenous populations, blood-sucking insects may serve as important vectors of infection among visitors to tropical regions.
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