Intrafamilial spread of hepatitis B virus infection in Greece.

Objective: No study has investigated the intrafamilial spread of hepatitis B virus (HBV) in Greece. We conducted a 9-year prospective study to determine the rate of HBV spread in family members when a member is identified as an HBV carrier, the possible routes and risk factors for transmission of HBV and the family members with the highest risk of infection according to kinship degrees.

Methods: A total of 387 family members of 166 hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) carriers were investigated for the detection of HBV infection markers using standard enzyme immunoassays; 6.