[HBcAg antibodies in acute viral hepatitis B in adults and infants in the 1st year of life].
The study was carried out with blood sera from 122 patients with viral hepatitis B (94 adults and 28 infants). The specific markers of hepatitis B virus (HBsAg, anti-HBs, anti-HBc) were tested in the time course of the disease at 10-day intervals in the acute period and for a year after the discharge. Radioimmunoassay (RIA) revealed anti-HBc in the blood of adults and infants suffering from hepatitis B both in the presence and absence of HBsAg. Anti-HBc titres were mostly high (over 1:1500) in the acute period of the disease and persisted at high levels (1:1900) for a year after the acute disease. Anti-HBc titres were found to correlate with the severity of the disease: low titres (1:500) were detected only in severe cases. Anti-HBc demonstrated in the blood from the first days of the disease belonged to immunoglobulins M. A group of patients with hepatitis B was examined in the acute period for anti-HBc only in the absence of HBsAg and anti-HBs by RIA. In convalescence all these patients developed anti-HBsAg. No fatal outcomes were observed.