Hepatitis B Transmitted by a Human Bite

Management of Occupational Exposures to Blood-Borne Viruses

“…17 Transmission of the virus during human bites has been reported, and bite wounds inflicted by HBV-infected patients warrant HBV prophylaxis even though the risk of infection is low. 18,19 Indications for Post-Exposure Prophylaxis Exposed health care workers who are not known to be immune to HBV should be tested for antibody to HBsAg (anti-HBsAg). An antibody titer of at least 10 mIU per milliliter confers immunity.…”

Transmission of hepatitis B by human bite—Confirmation by detection of virus in saliva and full genome sequencing

“…The bite was so severe that it resulted in cellulitis that needed a course of intravenous antibiotic treatment. Although it was believed that human bites could inoculate HBV, the best evidence was based on history and serological results (MacQuarrie et al, 1974;Stornello, 1991). Epidemiological data are suggestive that human bites could have contributed to the higher risk of hepatitis B transmission in institutions (Cunningham et al, 1994).…”

Transmission of Hepatitis B Virus to Gibbons by Exposure to Human Saliva Containing Hepatitis B Surface Antigen

“…The high prevalence of the antigen and of antibody to HB s Ag in members of the same family [8][9][10][11][12][13], children in institutions [14,15], and sexual partners [13,16,17], and the high incidence of hepatitis in dental personnel [18,19] have raised the possibility that saliva may be a vehicle for the transmission of hepatitis B virus (HBV) [20]. A human bite has been implicated in the transmission of HBV in one case [21]. Since no reports have demonstrated the infectivity of saliva, we attempted to transmit HBV by exposing captive gibbons to a pool of human saliva containing HBsAg.…”