Nonparenteral transmission of viral hepatitis in Greece.

"Nonparenteral" transmission of acute viral hepatitis was implicated in 50;5 per cent of 346 patients included in this study and in 67.5 per cent of 1,235 cases reviewed for the period 169-1973. Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBs Ag) was detected in 48.3 per cent of these patients. Of 476 family contacts of HBs Ag carriers 71 per cent had HBs Ag or anti-HBs, this being true for 88.8 per cent of siblings and for 67.7 per cent of offspring. Anti-HBs was detected in 10.4 per cent to 49.3 per cent of the populations tested, its frequency correlating with that of HBs Ag and increasing with age. Significant differences in the patterns of exposure to the hepatitis Bvirus (HBV) were seen between offspring and siblings of HBs Ag carries mainly determined by the observed HBs Ag prevalence in relation to their age. It was calculated that as many as 25 per cent of all Greeks may come into familial contact with HBs Ag carriers and acquire the infection mainly by nonparenteral mechanisms. It is concluded that in Greece there is already a wide exposure to HBV before vaccination programs.