Viral hepatitis markers in blood donors and patients with a history of jaundice.

Selected blood donors, antenatal patients, and hospital patients with a history of jaundice were investigated for evidence of prio exposure to hepatitis A and B viruses. Two markers of hepatitis B-infection were sought--surface antibody (anti-HBs) and core antibody (anti-HBc). The prevalence of both markers was low in jaundice history donors and antenatal patients and was no different from the prevalence in random populations of both groups. In contrast, the prevalence of antibody to hepatitis A-virus (anti-HAV) was very much higher in donors and antenatal patients with a history of jaundice than in random groups of the same age and ethnic origin. Similarly, hospital patients with a history of jaundice showed a very low prevalence of prior hepatitis-B infection and a very high prevalence of prior hepatitis-A infection. The findings suggest that in a country with a low incidence of hepatitis-B carriage a history of jaundice is much more likely to equate with prior hepatitis-A infection than B infection. There is no evidence to support the practice of regarding blood donors or patients with a history of jaundice as a special group with more prior exposure to hepatitis-B virus and thus more likelihood of being long-term carriers of hepatitis-B virus.