title: [Acute viral hepatitis in children. Contribution to the epidemiology of HBsAg-positive and -negative hepatitis (author's transl)].
abstract: Between 1968 and 1975 146 patients were admitted to the Würzburg University Hospital for Children because of acute viral hepatitis. 123 (85%) turned out to be HBsAg negative (hepatitis non-B), and 23 (15%) HBsAg-positive (hepatitis B), when tested by solid-phase radioimmunoassay. Subtyping HBsAg revealed a trend from subtype D- towards subtype Y-infections. Analyzed retrospectively, 23 of the non-B and 6 of the B patients apparently had contracted their infection from family or household contacts. Amongst the hepatitis non-B patients, another 16 had contacts at school or nursery school, and 12 had spent their holidays in mediterranian countries. In any type of hepatitis 8 patients previously had been in hospital; in 4 of the 8 non-B cases hepatitis type non-A-non-B is discussed. All the persons who were the suspected source of infection for hepatitis non-B seemed to have suffered from acute hepatitis, while in hepatitis B the only two who could be traced, appeared to be chronically infected. In the Würzburg area, hepatitis non-B, most likely A predominated during infancy whilst adults mostly suffered from hepatitis B. These differences are discussed.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005860:Germany, West; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000453:epidemiology; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens / Q000032:analysis; D006525:Hepatitis, Viral, Human / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D011863:Radioimmunoassay
chemical_list: D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens
vernacular_title: Die akute Virushepatitis im Kindesalter. Ein Beitrag zur Epidemiologie der HBs Ag-positiven und -negativen Hepatitis.