A Comparison of the Frequency of Hepatitis-B Antigen and Antibody in Hospital and Nonhospital Personnel

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Abstract
The frequency of hepatitis B antigen and antibody among health-care personnel was compared with that among matched controls with no exposure to patients or blood products. The frequency of the antigen in personnel and controls did not differ significantly. However, the causes may have been different, the antigen correlating with past transfusion in the controls but not in personnel. A history of past hepatitis did not correlate with antigenemia in either population, impugning the validity of hepatitis history as a cause for donor exclusion. Antibody was twice as frequent in health personnel, indicating increased exposure to the antigen; antibody correlated with past hepatitis in personnel, but not in controls, suggesting that overt hepatitis B infection is more common among health personnel. The frequency of hepatitis B antigen among health workers is not currently alarming, but the risk that each antigen-positive health worker represents to his patients remains unknown. (N Engl J Med 289:647–651, 1973)