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STRATEGIES TO CONTROL HEPATITIS B: PUBLIC POLICY, EPIDEMIOLOGY, VACCINE AND DRUGS

Tuesday, 9th of June 2015

STRATEGIES TO CONTROL HEPATITIS B: PUBLIC POLICY, EPIDEMIOLOGY, VACCINE AND DRUGS

Locarnini S¹, Hatzakis A², Chen DS³, Lok A⁴.

Author information

• ¹Research & Molecular Development, Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory, Melbourne, Australia. Electronic address: Stephen.Locarnini@mh.org.au.
• ²Department of Hygiene & Epidemiology & Medical Statistics, Athens University Medical School, Athens, Greece.
• ³Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital and College of Medicine, Genomics Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan.
• ⁴Division of Gastroenterology, University of Michigan Medical Centre, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.

J Hepatol. 2015 Apr;62(1S):S76-S86. doi: 10.1016/j.jhep.2015.01.018.

 

Abstract below; full text, with tables, is at

http://www.journal-of-hepatology.eu/article/S0168-8278(15)00049-5/fulltext#s0040

                               

The last 50years of hepatitis B research has resulted in the development of effective screening assays for surveillance, vaccines for prevention and antiviral drugs that significantly improve patient clinical outcomes. Not surprisingly then, the global epidemiology of hepatitis B virus (HBV) is set to change dramatically over the next decade. For example, the success and the high coverage of universal HBV vaccination and the ageing cohorts of patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) will result in reductions of incidence and prevalence of chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis and probably hepatocellular carcinoma. This will be further accelerated by the impressive progress in the treatment outcomes for patients with CHB. In spite of this success, challenges remain, such as planning for the impact of migration from countries with high prevalence rates to those countries with low rates of HBV infection.

 

The recent establishment of the World Health Organisation Global Hepatitis Program with the provision of a framework for global action has become the cornerstone for all countries to now frame their own particular national responses to control hepatitis B. An effective policy framework can prevent new infections, ensure people can access clinical care, and in doing so reduce the burden of infection at an individual, country and regional level. These developments present a real opportunity to reduce the significant, social and economic burden of global hepatitis B, ultimately the critical next steps to render the world hepatitis B free.

Copyright © 2015 European Association for the Study of the Liver. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.