Theprevalence ofhepatitis B infection amongsturban andruralpopulations inWesternSamoa

SUMMARY A group of 240 urbanand 200 rural dwellers in WesternSamoa over the age of 20 years was studied for serological evidence of current or past infectionwith heptatitis B virus (HBV). Overall, 5*5% ofsubjects were found to be currentlyinfected with HBVand a further 74'5 % showed detectable levels of antibody. Antibody to thehepatitis Bcore antigenwas found to be a bettermarker of past infectionthanantibody to thesurface antigen ofthe virus. Boththeinfection rate and carrier rate were higher in males than females and subjects living in ruralareas were more likely to be infected thanthose living in urban areas. INTRODUCTION Previousstudies in Pacific populations haveshown that thehepatitis B virusisendemic in the region (Austin, Maquire & Miles, 1974; Blumberg et al. 1974; Mazzur & Jones, 1977; Gust, Lehmann & Dimitrakakis, 1979; Wong, Purcell & Rosen, 1979) andhasrevealedstriking variationsinthe prevalenceofinfection and ofchronic carrier rates amongst different