Virology, Emerging Diseases & vaccines

Hepatitis B Virus Infection

Hepatitis B is an infectious disease caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV) that affects the liver. It can cause both acute and chronic infections. Many people have no symptoms during the initial infection. Some develop a rapid onset of sickness with vomiting, yellowish skin, tiredness, dark urine and abdominal pain. Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is one of the major public health concerns. About 2 billion infected individuals globally, 350 million chronic hepatitis and up to 1.2 million death annually due to HBV infection have been made the emergency of this infection inevitable. Approximately 75% of patients with chronic hepatitis live in Asia and Africa and up to 15-45% of HBV infected patients grows to cirrhosis, liver failure and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). More than 35% of Iranian populations have been exposed to HBV and more than 3% of the community estimated to be virus carriers.