[Prevalence of hepatitis B antibody in blood donors from south-western Germany (author's transl)].

Hepatitis B antibody could be demonstrated in 101 (8,7 percent) of 1157 sera of blood donors from the Tübingen area by passive hemagglutination. The prevalence of antibody in this population is similar to the prevalence in volunteer blood donors of New York and Chicago and 4-5 times as high as in blood donors from Lillehammer/Norway. The percentage of antibody-positive donors is very dependent on age and increased from 5 per cent in donors less than 20 years of age to 17 per cent in donors 50-59 years of age. No significant difference in the prevalence of antibody was noted between male and female donors and donors of different occupations. However, persons working in the medical field exhibited an increased percentage of antibody carriers (17 per cent).