Hepatitis B and Liver Transplantation -- Problems and Promises

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Abstract
The health problems associated with hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection are immense. Roughly 5 percent of the world's population is chronically infected with HBV, and this is often said to be the chief cause of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Even in the United States, an area of low endemicity, there are more than 1 million carriers of the hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). Cirrhosis develops in about 25 percent of carriers, and once it becomes clinically apparent, the chance of surviving five years is approximately 50 percent1,2. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that 4000 to . . .