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Journal of Clinical Pathology logoLink to Journal of Clinical Pathology
. 1979 Aug;32(8):783–785. doi: 10.1136/jcp.32.8.783

Chronic hepatitis B infection in male homosexuals.

P Skinhøj, G Høybye, B Hentzer, V Faber, H Poulsen
PMCID: PMC1145809  PMID: 512038

Abstract

Ten cases of hepatitis B virus infection were identified among asymptomatic male homosexuals. These patients shared a number of characteristics: A subclinical origin and course of infection; Persistence of HGsAg for periods exceeding six to 25 months; Persistent GPT elevation of two to five times upper normal limit; Morphological changes in the liver with portal and parenchymal inflammation (chronic persistent hepatitis, six cases; non-specific reactive hepatitis, 2 cases; cirrhosis and acute hepatitis with signs of chronicity, one case each). HBeAg was found in six cases, anti-HBe in none. These results indicate that screening for hepatitis B should be performed whenever these individuals come under medical attention in order to detect asymptomatic chronic liver diseases and to detect these silent vectors of an infection that presently shows an increased frequency among homosexuals.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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