Hepatitis b dissertation

The unique features of the HBV replication cycle confer a distinct ability of the virus to persist in infected cells. Virological and serological assays have been developed for diagnosis of various forms of HBV-associated disease and for treatment of chronic hepatitis B infection.

HBV infection leads to a wide spectrum of liver disease ranging from acute hepatitis (including fulminant hepatic failure) to chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).2The diagnosis of HBV infection and its associated disease is based on a constellation of clinical, biochemical]

Acute HBV infection can be either asymptomatic or present with symptomatic acute hepatitis. Most adults infected with the virus recover, but 5%–10% are unable to clear the virus and become chronically infected. Many chronically infected persons have mild liver disease with little or no long-term morbidity or mortality.

T. Jake Liang, Liver Diseases Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD; Copyright notice The publisher's final edited version of this article is available at Hepatology