background and objective: although hepatitis b vaccine immunogenicity is high, certain risk factors such as age, tobacco consumption, obesity and genetic background have been associated with low responsiveness to hbv vaccine. we aimed to evaluate the role of occult hepatitis b virus (hbv) infection in non-responder adults to hbv vaccine in a low endemic area for hbv. material and methods : a to...

This is the first paper in which it was stated that Australia antigen (Au) was the hepatitis virus. This subsequently led to the identification of the hepatitis B virus (HBV), the development of methods for the diagnosis of hepatitis B, the prevention of post-transfusion hepatitis, the control of hepatitis in high risk environments, a vaccine against hepatitis B, and the recognition of the role...

Mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) is a major mode of hepatitis B virus (HBV) transmission, especially in high endemic areas. Administration of hepatitis B immunoglobulin (HBIG) and hepatitis B vaccine to infants at birth, followed by completion of the vaccine series, prevented approximately 95% of HBV transmission from HBsAg-positive mothers to their infants. However, immunoprophylaxis failur...

Outcomes of chronic infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV) are varied, with increased morbidity reported in the context of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) coinfection. The factors driving different outcomes are not well understood, but there is increasing interest in an HLA class I effect. We therefore studied the influence of HLA class I on HBV in an African HIV-positive cohort. We demonstr...

The UK incidence of hepatitis B is falling. About 245 cases were reported per quarter in 1998-a marked decrease from just under 2000 reports in 1984. However, the prevalence remains high in other parts of the world and appreciably higher amongst healthcare workers. In Israel in 1994 the seroprevalence of anti-HBc was 10% in the general population but 24% in hospital employees; no significant ch...

BACKGROUND Tajikistan, considered highly endemic area for hepatitis B virus (HBV) in a pre-vaccine era, introduced hepatitis B vaccine in 2002 and reported ≥80% coverage with three doses of hepatitis B vaccine (HepB3) since 2004. However, the impact of vaccine introduction has not been assessed. METHODS We tested residual serum specimens from a 2010 national serosurvey for vaccine-preventable...

BACKGROUND Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is endemic in China; perinatal transmission is the main source of chronic HBV infection. Simultaneous administration of hepatitis B immune globulin (HBIG) and hepatitis B vaccine is highly effective to prevent perinatal transmission of HBV; however, the effectiveness also depends on full adherence to the recommended protocols in daily practice. In th...

In the health care setting, bloodborne pathogens such as the hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) may be transmitted from infected patients to health care workers as well as from infected health care workers to patients. To reduce the risk of transmission, all practicing obstetrician-gynecologists should receive the HBV vaccine. Obstetrician-gynecol...

A study on hepatitis B and C virus seroprevalence was carried out on blood samples from 327 municipal solid waste workers in Messina (Italy) to verify the hypothesis that this category of workers is at high risk for such diseases. The fact that 32.41% of all the subjects showed previous exposure to hepatitis B virus (HBV) substantiates the need to proceed with compulsory HBV vaccine prophylaxis...

Introduction: Hepatitis B is a disease caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV), which is transmitted through percutaneous (i.e., puncture through the skin) or mucosal (i.e., direct contact with mucous membranes) exposure to infectious blood or body fluids. HBV can cause chronic infection, resulting in cirrhosis of the liver, liver cancer, liver failure, and death. Persons with chronic infection a...