Abstract
Susceptibility to hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection among 987 young adult male blood donors in 2 major Yemeni cities was investigated. Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) was detected in 10.8% (
107
987
) of donors and 284 (28.8%) had evidence of ongoing or past HBV infection. Hepatitis B surface antibody (anti-HBs) only was detected in 34 (3.4%) donors. Thus, 67.8% (
669
987
) of donors had no detectable HBV-markers indicating susceptibility to infection. The proportion of HBV-susceptible donors decreased from 70.9% (
249
351
) in donors aged < 25 years to 69.4% (
334
481
) in those aged 25–34 years and 55.5% (
86
155
) in donors aged > 34 years (
P = 0.002). The high proportion of susceptible young adults in a community with a high HBsAg carrier rate could be the result of changing epidemiology of hepatitis B in Yemen. Consideration should therefore be given to immunizing young adults as an adjunct to the current expanded infant immunization programme.