Richard H. Decker

Differential serodiagnosis of sporadic acute viral hepatitis.

Summary The frequency of the various types of acute sporadic viral hepatitis was studied in a sample of 222 consecutively hospitalized, adult patients. Sera at admission and discharge from the hospital as well as feces were available in 26 out of the 69 cases negative for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) by passive hemagglutination assay. These were selected for more intensive serologic investigation by solid-phase radioimmunoassay methods. IgM antibodies to HAV (anti-HAV) were detected in 9 cases. In 3 (33%) of them HAV was demonstrated in feces. In 10 cases evidence of current hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection was demonstrated. The remaining 7 cases were characterized as non-A, non-B hepatitis by exclusion because of serologic evidence of past HAV and HBV infection. It appears from the studied sample that in Greece almost 80% of the acute sporadic cases among adults are caused by HBV, 11% by HAV, and about 9% by non-A, non-B virus.