Incidence of hepatitis B carriers in Calcutta, West Bengal.

A survey of Hepatitis B virus (HBV) carrier state of paid and voluntary blood donors in and around the city of Calcutta has been carried out. HBV carrier state is higher in paid donors (5.84%) than voluntary donors (1.79%). The nutritional status of paid donors as assessed by serum protein, immunoglobulin and cholesterol shows evidence of malnutrition and chronic infection. The socio-economic status of the prospective blood donors has an important bearing on the persistence of carrier state for HBV.