Hepatitis B e Antigen and Infectivity of Hepatitis B Virus

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Abstract
For confirmation of the difference in the infectivity of hepatitis B surface antigen (HB8 Ag)-positive serum according to differences in the e antigen system, four chimpanzees were inoculated with serum positive for hepatitis B e antigen (HBe Ag), and three chimpanzees were inoculated with serum positive for antibody to HBe Ag (anti-HBe). Since the infectivity titrations are not yet completed, the end infectivity titer of each serum is not known. All four chimpanzees given injections of 10-1, 10-4, or 10-8 dilutions of HBe Ag-positive serum developed hepatitis B virus infection, whereas the one chimpanzee injected with undiluted anti-HBe-positive serum became infected, and other chimpanzees injected with diluted anti-HBe-positive sera did not. As judged from the length of the incubation period before appearance of HB8 Ag in blood, there seemed to be a remarkable difference in infectivity between the HBe Ag-positive serum and the anti-HBe-positive serum; the former serum was 108 times more infectious than the latter.