Studies on hepatitis B surface antigen and antibody in Nauru. II. Distribution amongst Gilbert and Ellice (Tuvalu) islanders.

The age-specific prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and antibody was studied in a random sample of Gilbert and Ellice islanders over the age of 10 years living in Nauru. While approximately 82% of each group showed evidence of past infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV) the carriage rate of HBsAg was significantly lower in the Polynesian Ellice islanders (7.5%) than in the Micronesian Gilbertese (26.3%) and indigenous Nauruans (14.7%). These findings suggest that Micronesian and Polynesian populations may differ in the response to infection with HBV.