[Transmission of hepatitis B from an adopted child to an adult].

A case of acute hepatitis B infection in a 43 year-old male is presented. Seven months before admission the family had adopted a two year-old boy from India, and the child was later found to be seropositive for HBsAg. The patient had no other risk factors of hepatitis B infection and transmission of hepatitis B virus from the adopted child is suspected. It is recommended that children who are adopted from countries with high hepatitis B virus prevalence should be examined for HBsAg, and adoptive family members be vaccinated if the child is found to be HBsAg seropositive.