Posttransfusion hepatitis B transmitted by blood from a hepatitis B surface antigen‐negative hepatitis B virus carrier

Abstract

A female blood donor at our institution was implicated in three cases of clinical posttransfusion hepatitis B. She had given blood 25 times in 8 years. Twenty‐seven recipients were followed up, and about one‐half of those who were still living had serologic markers of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. The donor was repeatedly negative for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and antibody, but she had high titers of antibody to hepatitis B core antigen. We conclude that blood from this HBsAg‐negative blood donor was capable of transmitting hepatitis B.