title: Chronic hepatitis B--what's new?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There has been substantial development in both clinical and public health approaches to hepatitis B virus (HBV), including more potent treatments and improved knowledge of the natural history of disease, policy changes, educational programs for health professionals, and improved support and information for people living with HBV.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This article discusses some of the key clinical questions that arise in the management of HBV, with a focus on actions that can reduce the impact of chronic hepatitis B on individuals and the community, and the recent developments that will have a substantial impact on the management of HBV in Australian general practice.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  With recent developments in clinical and public health approaches, recognition of the need to address chronic hepatitis B has gained urgency, with current estimates suggesting that approximately 218,000 Australians are living with the disease, and that liver cancer is now the fastest increasing cause of cancer death in the country.
authors.affiliation: WHO Regional Reference Laboratory for Hepatitis B, Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. jennifer.maclachlan@mh.org.au
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: MacLachlan
authors.forename: Benjamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Cowie
mesh_terms: D001315:Australia; D019468:Disease Management; D058006:General Practice; D019694:Hepatitis B, Chronic / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D011634:Public Health