Abstract
HEPATITIS B antigen (HBAg, Australia antigen) has been associated definitively with long incubation human hepatitis1–4. It appears before the onset of acute illness3,4 and decreases during convalescence, with the concomitant development of anti-HBAg5. In addition to this classical course of the disease, the discovery of HBAg has revealed subclinical infections, as demonstrated by seroconversion to HBAg (ref. 6), and the carrier state, where antigen is present in blood for long periods with either chronic hepatitis or no apparent disease7. Levels of HBAg in blood seem unrelated to the severity of disease, for carriers who generally have high titres of circulating antigen, in most cases, show slight if any liver damage8,9.
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KAPLAN, P., GERIN, J. & ALTER, H. Hepatitis B-specific DNA polymerase activity during post-transfusion hepatitis. Nature 249, 762–764 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1038/249762a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/249762a0
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