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. 1987 Jan 24;294(6566):211–213. doi: 10.1136/bmj.294.6566.211

Prognosis of children who are carriers of hepatitis B.

S M Wheeley, E H Boxall, M J Tarlow
PMCID: PMC1245227  PMID: 3101814

Abstract

Fifteen children who had become positive for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) by perinatal transmission were traced and re-examined after a mean of 8.1 years; all had been born in England to mothers from ethnic minorities who were carriers of HBsAg. Fourteen of the children remained carriers of HBsAg; of these, more girls than boys developed antibody to hepatitis B e antigen (anti-HBe). Those children whose transaminase activities had been above normal within the first three years of life were more likely to have developed anti-HBe. The earlier production of anti-HBe suggests that girls have a more effective immune response. Increased transaminase activity early in the course of asymptomatic carriage of HBsAg may be a favourable prognostic sign.

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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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