Evidence for limited humoral immunoglobulin M antibody response to hepatitis B core antigen during acute and chronic hepatitis B virus infections

The periods of persisting immunoglobulin M class antibodies to hepatitis B core antigen in 28 patients with acute hepatitis B infections and in 134 patients with chronic hepatitis B infections were studied by using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and an indirect immunofluorescence technique. We showed that the clearance of antibodies to hepatitis B core antigen is independent of the degree of viremia in both forms of hepatitis.