Prevalence of antibody to hepatitis A and hepatitis B viruses in selected populations of the South Pacific.

Five island populations representing the three major cultural groups of the South Pacific--Polynesia, Micronesia, Melanesia--were studied for prevalence of antibody to hepatitis A virus (anti-HAV) and of antibody to the core antigen of hepatitis B virus (anti-HBc). Sera were collected in the late 1950s and early 1960s, selected where possible for appropriate age and sex distributions, and were tested by radioimmunoassay. Rather marked differences in prevalence were observed. Anti-HBc patterns confirmed that HBV is endemic in the Pacific populations. Furthermore, the patterns differed somewhat from each other and did not correlate with ethnogeographic area. Prevalence of anti-HAV was high in all populations studied. A Unique pattern was found for the island of Ponape (Micronesia): In a Ponape population bled in 1963, anti-HAV was not detected in any individual under 20 years of age, but almost all individuals over that age were found to be seropositive. On testing a second group of sera collected in 1975, all individuals aged 14--21 years were found to be antibody positive, indicating that HAV had returned to Ponape sometime prior to 1975. There was no significant difference in the prevalence of HAV or HBV infection between males and females in any of the populations studied.