Viral hepatitis in homosexual men.

We studied 33 episodes of acute viral hepatitis in homosexual men to determine the type of hepatitis seen in this population. Seventy percent were caused by type A hepatitis, and 30% by type B hepatitis. None were due to non-A, non-B hepatitis. A high proportion of patients presenting with either type of acute hepatitis had evidence of previous infection with the other type: Seventy percent of patients with type B hepatitis had previous infection with type A, and 74% of patients with type A hepatitis had previous infection with type B. This study shows that, in homosexual men, hepatitis A, like hepatitis B, is a sexually transmitted disease.