Natural history of the HBsAg carrier.

Natural history of the HBsAg carrier Chronic carriage of the hepatitis B virus (defined as carriage longer than six months) is an important cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide but particularly in Africa and the Far East. Some idea of the scale of the problem can be gauged from the fact that there are estimated to be 800 000 carriers in USA alone and 200 million carriers worldwide. There are said to be 4000 deaths per annum in the USA due to HBsAg positive cirrhosis and up to 250 0001 deaths per annum from HBsAg positive hepatocellular carcinoma throughout the world.