Abstract
Hepatitis B is more frequent in many countries in eastern Europe than in the western part. In Poland the incidence is as high as 34 notified cases per 100,000 inhabitants. In the Baltic states the incidence is between 10 and 20, and in Russia 23 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. In the Baltic states the incidence has declined since 1986. This reduction has been most prominent in Lithuania, with 69%, followed by Latvia with 43% and Estonia with 23%. The infection is very often (>50%) spread by non-sterile medical instruments.