Prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen, hepatitis B e antigen and antibody, and antigen subtypes in atomic bomb survivors.

On the basis of previous studies showing an association between hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) positivity and radiation exposure in atomic bomb (A-bomb) survivors, we investigated further the active state of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection by incorporating tests for hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) and hepatitis B e antibody (anti-HBe) and HBsAg subtypes into our biennial health examinations. Among 6548 A-bomb survivors for whom HBsAg was assayed between July 1979 and July 1981, 129 persons were HBsAg positive. HBeAg and anti-HBe were measured in 104 of these persons and subtypes of HBsAg in 98 persons. Among those exposed to radiation (average liver dose 0.58 Sv), the odds ratio of HBsAg positivity tended to increase with radiation dose (P for trend = 0.024). The P values for association between the prevalence of HB e antigen and radiation dose and between the prevalence of anti-HBe and radiation dose were 0.094 and 0.17, respectively. The HB antigen subtype adr was predominant over other subtypes in both Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but the distribution of subtypes did not seem to differ in relation to radiation dose. These results suggested that A-bomb survivors remain in an active state of HBV infection and that the mechanism(s) of seroconversion may be impaired.