HBV, An Issue of Clinics in Liver Disease

Hepatitis B continues to be a worldwide public health problem of major proportions, with over 10% of people in heavily populated endemic areas being chronic carriers of the virus. Enormous strides have been made in understanding the biology of HBV and in management. Overwhelming evidence demonstrates that long-term suppression of viral replication may prevent the dreaded long-term outcomes of this disease. Increasing numbers of drugs that can achieve this goal, without the high risk of emergent viral resistance that characterized treatment as recently as 5 years ago, are available and more will follow, but controversies abound about the most effective manner in which to use these agents and about which patients should be treated. Many experts believe we are moving into an era in which the spectrum of patients who we consider treatment candidates is expanding. A volume on our present understanding about the biology and immunology of HBV, along with a critical analysis of the complex therapeutic issues is most timely.