Hepatitis B e antigen in the absence of hepatitis B surface antigen.

Hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) was detected by agar gel diffusion in the serum of four Ugandan adults (three patients with tropical splenomegaly syndrome and one healthy adult) who did not have detectable hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) by radioimmunoassay. Two of them had antibody to hepatitis B core antigen, and the other two had antibody to HBsAg. Detection of HBeAg by a relatively insensitive immunodiffusion test in the absence of HBsAg detectable by a sensitive radioimmunoassay suggested that production or removal of these two antigens may occur independently.