High titre of antibody to hepatitis B core antigen detected by immune adherence haemagglutination in HBsAg-positive acute hepatitis.

Nine patients with HBsAg-positive acute hepatitis were tested for antibody to hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc) by the immune adherence haemagglutination method. A high anti-HBc titre (2(15) or more) was found in three, while anti-HBc was not detectable in the remaining six. All of them recovered from hepatitis with the return of hepatic function tests to normal, but HBsAg persisted in the three patients whose acute-phase serum had revealed high anti-HBc titres. On the basis of these observations, the three patients were thought to be persistent HBsAg carriers who had contracted opportunistic acute hepatitis of non-B aetiology. Titration of anti-HBc may be indicated in patients with HBsAg-positive acute hepatitis, because it helps distinguish persistent HBsAg carriers with non-B hepatitis from patients with hepatitis B at the outset, during the episode of acute hepatitis.