Hepatitis B virus traceback and lookback: factors to consider

The incidence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in dialysis populations has declined over recent decades, largely because of improvements in infection control and widespread implementation of HBV vaccination. Regardless, outbreaks of infection continue to occur in dialysis units, and prevalence rates remain unacceptably high. For a variety of reasons, dialysis patients are at increased risk of acquiring HBV. They also demonstrate different disease manifestations compared with healthy individuals and are more likely to progress to chronic carriage. This paper will review the epidemiology, modes of transmission and diagnosis of HBV in this population. Prevention and treatment will be discussed, with a specific focus on strategies to improve vaccination response, new therapeutic options and selection of patients for therapy.

Occult HBV infection—both hidden and mysterious

Hepatitis B and C

Time-dependent events in natural history of occult hepatitis B virus infection: the importance of population-based long-term follow-up study with repeated measurements

Natural history of chronic hepatitis B in Euro-Mediterranean and African Countries

Low frequency of occult hepatitis B infection in anti-HBc seropositive blood donors: experience from a tertiary care centre in South India.

Most cases of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are associated with cirrhosis related to chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) or hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Changes in the time trends of HCC and most variations in its age-, sex-, and race-specific rates among different regions are likely to be related to differences in hepatitis viruses that are most prevalent in a population, the timing of their spread, and the ages of the individuals the viruses infect. Environmental, host genetic, and viral factors can affect the risk of HCC in individuals with HBV or HCV infection. This review summarizes the risk factors for HCC among HBV- or HCV-infected individuals, based on findings from epidemiologic studies and meta-analyses, as well as determinants of patient outcome and the HCC disease burden, globally and in the United States.

Infectivity of occult hepatitis <scp>B</scp> from two different points of view

Clinical utility in quantifying serum HBV DNA levels using PCR assays

Viral Hepatitis in Liver Transplantation

Epidemiology of hepatitis B in Europe and worldwide.

Impact of Occult Hepatitis B Virus Infection or Hepatitis B Virus DNA Integration on Efficacy of Chronic Hepatitis C Treatment With Peginterferon and Ribavirin

Progress in monitoring blood safety

Optimal Management in Preventing Mother-to-Infant Transmission of Hepatitis B: More Requires to Be Done

Intrahepatic Hepatitis B Virus Covalently Closed Circular DNA Can Be a Predictor of Sustained Response to Therapy