CARRIER STATE PREVALENCE OF HEPATITIS ASSOCIATED ANTIGEN (AU/SH) IN NIGERIA

Williams, A. O. (Univ. College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria), A. I . O. Williams, J. Buckels, J. A. Smith and T. I. Francis. Carrier state prevalence of hepatitis associated antigen (AU/SH) in Nigeria. Am J Epidemiol 96: 227–230, 1972.—Examinations of 1.574 sera from Nigerians by immunodiffusion for Australia (Au) antigen revealed 84 (5.5%) positive individual carriers who are clinically well. This high prevalence rate confirms previous studies that the antigen occurs more frequently in populations in the tropics. The antigen is much more prevalent in the 21–30 year age groups in urban areas than in rural areas. Although the role of the antigen in chronic liver disease is not clear, it may be of considerable etiologic significance in the pathogenesis of liver diseases which are relatively common in the tropics. The exact mode of transmission remains obscure but scarification practices and arthropods, as transmitting vectors, may be of importance.