Absence of free core antigen in anti-HBc negative viremic hepatitis B carriers.

Using enzyme immune assay and immune electron microscopy, we have examined the sera of immune-suppressed anti-HBc negative HBV-infected patients for the presence of HBcAg. Our results suggest that free HBV core particles are absent or present only in minute amounts in the blood of chronic carriers and that at the most, only minimal amounts of core antigen are found on the surface of the virus particles.