Chronic Hepatitis B — New Goals, New Treatment

Abstract
The hepatitis B virus (HBV) causes chronic infection in approximately 400 million people in the world. Most carriers of chronic HBV, including Asians, Africans, and a proportion of persons in Mediterranean countries, acquire the infection at birth or within the first 1 to 2 years after birth.1 It is estimated that 50% of male carriers and 14% of female carriers will eventually die of the complications of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma.2