Hepatitis B

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Abstract
IN A COMMUNICATION to theNew England Journal of Medicinein September 1971, Chalmers and Alter1pointed out that, at least at that time, the degree of risk that hepatitis B antigen-positive health-care personnel represent to their patient contacts was obscure. They further raised the question as to whether or not any restrictions should be imposed on the professional activities of such individuals. The following year, the Committee on Viral Hepatitis of the National Academy of Sciences-National Research Council, having reviewed the available information on this subject, published their initial statement on the "Public Health Implications of the Presence of Hepatitis B Antigen in Human Serum."2The Committee did not recommend either the routine antigen testing of any specific professional group or the imposition of any restrictions on the professional activities of individuals known to be antigen-positive. Are we now in a position to consider a different recommendation?

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