Hepatitis B Virus Antibody in Blood Donors and the Occurrence of Non-A, Non-B Hepatitis in Transfusion Recipients

doi:10.1059/0003-4819-101-6-733

Hepatitis B Virus Antibody in Blood Donors and the Occurrence of Non-A, Non-B Hepatitis in Transfusion Recipients

An Analysis of the Transfusion-Transmitted Viruses Study

New York, New York; Houston, Texas; Los Angeles, California; and St. Louis, Missouri

Abstract

Patients who received transfusions and nontransfused control patients were followed to assess the incidence and cause of post-transfusion hepatitis and to identify donor factors that might relate to risk of hepatitis. We evaluated as risk factors in donors the presence of antibody to hepatitis B virus compared with elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT) level. Units of blood that were positive for antibody to hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc) were associated with a twofold to threefold greater risk of non-A, non-B hepatitis in the recipients than were units without anti-HBc. In the absence of specific serologic tests for non-A, non-B agents, screening

Article and Author Information

▸From the New York Blood Center, New York, New York; Washington University-Barnes Hospital, and the American Red Cross, Missouri-Illinois Region, St. Louis, Missouri; Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas; and UCLA Center for Health Sciences, Los Angeles, California.
Dr. Szmuness has died.
The Transfusion-Transmitted Viruses Study Group consists of the following: Participating Institutions: the Lindsley F. Kimball Research Institute of The New York Blood Center, the New York Hospital, and the Hospital for Special Surgery, New York; Washington University School of Medicine-Barnes Hospital, and the Missouri-Illinois Regional Red Cross, St. Louis; Baylor College of Medicine, Ben Taub General Hospital, Jefferson Davis Hospital, and Methodist Hospital, Houston; and the UCLA Center for the Health Sciences, Los Angeles. Coordinating Center: University of Southern California School of Medicine, Los Angeles. Advisory Committee: Dr. Paul V. Holland, chairman; Dr. William H. Bancroft; Dr. Lawrence Shaw; and Dr. Hyman J. Zimmerman.
▸Requests for reprints should be addressed to Cladd E. Stevens, M.D.; The Wolf Szmuness Laboratory of Epidemiology, The New York Blood Center, 310 East 67th Street; New York, NY 10021.