[Risk of transmission of hepatitis B through contact lens fitting set].

8 out of 19 cases of acute or chronic hepatitis, with positive hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) had HBsAg-positive tears. In 25 healthy HBsAg carriers, no HBsAg was found in the tears. The HBsAg concentration in the tears of hepatitis patients was less than 1% of the HBsAg in their blood. Contact lenses (soft hydrophilic, silicone) experimentally contaminated with HBsAg were practically free of it after the usual cleaning and washing with a commercial contact lens cleaning fluid. No adsorption of HBsAg was found on hydrophilic soft lenses; a minimal adsorption on silicone lenses could not be entirely excluded, but practically it was without any importance. In 14 samples of 79 storage fluids of a contact lens fitting set HBsAg was found. The cause of this contamination is not clear.