Sources of hepatitis B virus infection in hospital environment.

Investigations on the incidence of hepatitis B antigen (HB Ag)-carriers among 1466 patients of 11 various hospitals and departments showed that sources of hepatitis infection were more numerous in hospitals for children than in those for adults. The high-risk departments were those of dialysis (5 out of 12 patients), clinical medicine (6.6%), and obstetrics and gynecology, for adults, and those of neuropsychiatry (17.9%) and clinical medicine (11.2%)for children . The highest incidence of HB Ag-carriers among the medico-sanitary personnel of 5 hospitals (436 sera) was recorded in a hospital of obstetrics and gynecology.