Hepatitis B in a General Psychiatric Hospital

To the Editor: Hepatitis B exposure and carrier rates have been studied extensively in institutions for the mentally retarded and in prisons, but there is a paucity of such information about the mentally ill.¹ Although the risk of hepatitis B in the general population is approximately 3 to 5 percent,² the risk is much greater among the mentally retarded^3,4 and prisoners (both criminals³ and former prisoners of war⁶). There has been speculation that institutionalization may itself be a factor promoting a greater risk of hepatitis B infection. However, Hollinger et al. proposed that patients with Down's syndrome have an…