Particles in the Serum and Liver of a Chimpanzee Infected with Hepatitis Type B

Blumberg et al. discovered a new antigen in the blood of an Australian aborigine and subsequently this antigen was found to be associated with viral hepatitis type B (serum hepatitis). Serologic and biochemical changes characteristic of viral hepatitis were induced in chimpanzees by inoculation of human serum containing the Hepatitis B Antigen (HB Ag). The light and electron microscopic findings were essentially the same as those of acute viral hepatitis in man. This report will describe the particles in the serum and liver of one animal from that study.One milliliter (ml) of the NIH plasma pool which had been shown to contair. HB Ag was inoculated into a 15 lb. chimpanzee.