Prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigenaemia in healthy children.

The information about HBsAg carriage rate in children is scanty worldwide. There are few reports which suggest that chronic vimemia may be high in the developing countries. The majority ofHBV carriers acquire infection before the age of 6 years and 25-30% of them will eventually die of chronic liverdisease orlivercancer. Data on the status of HBV carriage rate in Pakistani children is scarce though its status in adults and pregnant females is well documented. Various methods are available for testing Hepatitis 13 surface antigen (HBsAg) in blood, the commonly usedbeing Serodia and Elisa methods. This study was done to determine the prevalence of HB sAg in healthy children and to compare the sensitivity of Serodia technique with Elisa technique.