ANTIBODIES TO DELTA ANTIGEN IN ASYMPTOMATIC HEPATITIS B SURFACE ANTIGEN-REACTIVE BLOOD DONORS IN THE UNITED STATES AND THEIR ASSOCIATION WITH OTHER MARKERS OF HEPATITIS B VIRUS

Abstract
A total of 1,915 sera collected in 1979 from asymptomatic hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) carriers were tested for delta antigen, antibody to delta antigen (anti-delta), hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) and antibody to hepatitis B e antigen (anti-HBe) in addition to HBsAg and its subtypes. These sera represented blood donated by volunteers to 49 of 57 regions of the American Red Cross located in nine geographic regions of the United States and Puerto Rico. A total of 72 (3.8%) sera had anti-delta activity while none had a detectable level of delta antigen. A significantly higher (ppp<0.05). The presence of anti-delta was not associated with HBsAg/ad (2.7%) or HBsAg/ay (4.6%)