Hepatitis B overview


 * Associate Editor In Chief:

Overview
Hepatitis B is an inflammation of the liver and is caused by the Hepatitis B virus (HBV), a member of the Hepadnavirus family and one of hundreds of unrelated viral species which cause viral hepatitis. It was originally known as "serum hepatitis" and has caused current epidemics in parts of Asia and Africa. Hepatitis B is recognized as endemic in China and various other parts of Asia. The proportion of the world's population currently infected with the virus is 3 to 6%, but up to a third have been exposed. Symptoms of the acute illness caused by the virus include liver inflammation, vomiting, jaundice, and rarely, death. Chronic hepatitis B may cause liver cirrhosis which may then lead to liver cancer, a fatal disease with very poor response to current chemotherapy.

Hepatitis B usually gets better on its own after a few months. It may, however, cause a more serious chronic infection.