title: Hepatitis B: changing epidemiology and interventions.
abstract: Hepatitis B virus infection is still a major public health problem worldwide, since more than 350 million people have chronic, lifelong infection and nearly 1 million deaths occur each year owing to complications. Most infections are acquired at birth or during early childhood. Nowadays, low- and middle-income countries bear the majority of the burden of hepatitis B-related liver cancer deaths despite the availability of an effective vaccine and antiviral treatments. In this review the epidemiology, strategies of prevention and the recent advances in therapy, genotype diversity and resistance are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Université Catholique de Louvain, Cliniques Universitaires St Luc, Service de Gastroentérologie et Hépatologie Pédiatrique, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Pilar
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Nannini
authors.affiliation: Université Catholique de Louvain, Cliniques Universitaires St Luc, Service de Gastroentérologie et Hépatologie Pédiatrique, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Etienne M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Sokal
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003906:Developing Countries; D024882:Drug Resistance, Viral; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D014943:Global Health; D017325:Hepatitis B Vaccines; D006515:Hepatitis B virus / Q000235:genetics; D019694:Hepatitis B, Chronic / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D006801:Humans; D017589:Immunization Programs; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D017325:Hepatitis B Vaccines
keywords: Epidemiology; HBV; HBV resistance; Hepatitis B; children