title: Transmission experiments with hepatitis B surface antigen and the common bedbug (Cimex lectularius L).
abstract: Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)-positive blood meals were fed to a colony of the common bedbug (Cimex lectularius L) in a series of 5 experiments. Antigen persisted in the bugs for at least 7 1/2 weeks, but was undetectable after 18 weeks. Trans-stadial transmission was demonstrated through one moult only, and transovarial transmission did not occur. Antigen was successfully transmitted by adult bugs into 3 out of 35 canisters of HBsAg-negative blood. Antibody of HBsAg was detected in the serum from a rabbit on which HBsAg-positive adult bugs had fed as well as in the serum of 2 out of 10 guinea-pigs on which HBsAg-positive 4th and 5th nymphal instars had fed. The results as a whole indicate that biological multiplication and biological transmission do not occur in C. lectularius, but mechanical transmission has been demonstrated. This is probably an important means of hepatitis B virus transmission among humans in South Africa.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000830:Animals, Laboratory; D001511:Bedbugs / Q000276:immunology*; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000635:transmission; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens / Q000032:analysis; D007303:Insect Vectors; D009758:Nymph / Q000276:immunology; D010063:Ovum / Q000276:immunology; D011817:Rabbits
chemical_list: D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens