Presence of HBsAg in the bile of subjects with acute HBsAg viral hepatitis.

During acute HBsAg serum positive viral hepatitis, the surface antigen was not detectable in duodenal bile but was almost always present in gallbladder and hepatic bile when cholecystokinin was intravenously administered. The immunologic nondemonstrability of HBsAg in duodenal bile is probably due to the presence of a factor elaborated by the intestinal mucosa. The possible role played by this factor in the non transmission of type B viral hepatitis via faecal-oral route is suggested.