| hepatitis b surface antigen, e antigen and hbv dna in healthy antenatal patients attending goroka hospital and their relationship to tattooing practices. | the prevalence of hepatitis b surface antigen (hbsag) in women attending the antenatal clinic at goroka hospital was 14%. 32% of those positive for hbsag also had hepatitis b e antigen (hbeag), indicative of an infectious state. the mean hbv dna level in hbeag-positive women was 1800 pg/ml. these results suggest that vertical transmission of hepatitis b virus may be of importance in papua new guinea. tattooing is common in this population: 91% of women in the study had tattoos. methods employed ... | 1990 | 2346045 |