Anti-delta-virus antibody in sera positive for hepatitis B surface antigen in male Saudi blood donors

Anti-delta-virus antibody was determined by readioimmunoassay technique in 490 healthy male Saudi blood donors with serum positive for hepatitis B surface antigen. The presence of anti-delta-virus antibody was demonstrated in 11.2% [55/490] of donor sera. This is considerably higher than the reported incidence of 3.8%, 0.5%, and from the United states, Canada, and 8%, 6.7%, and 5.4% from Saudi Arabia in healthy HB[s]Ag-positive blood donor sera