[Electron microscopic study of the sera of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBs Ag) subjects (author's transl)].

Electron microscopic observation of sera from 59 subjects(HBs Ag-negative controls, HBs Ag-positive asymptomatic blood donors, and HBs Ag-positive patients with acute viral hepatitis, chronic persistant or active hepatitis and alcohol-induced liver damage) was capable of specifying the morphology of the HB virus (spherical particles, rod-shaped particles and Dane particles) and of correlating the aspect of the observed viral material with the nature and evolution of the liver damage. The viral particles are observed in small amounts in asymptomatic blood donors and in patients with acute viral hepatitis, but are present in very significant quantities in chronic hepatitis. Dane particles and viral particle aggregates are more numerous in chronic active hepatitis than in chronic persistant hepatitis. The detection of HBeAg in the serum, especially found in chronic active hepatitis, correlates with the presence of Dane particles. In most cases, the observed viral particle aggregates do not seem to be associated with an immunological process.