Hepatitis B

Risk Factors for HBV Infection Although relatively rare in the United States, hepatitis B is endemic in parts of Asia where hundreds of millions of individuals may be infected. HBV is transmitted horizontally by blood and blood products and sexual transmission. It is also transmitted vertically from mother to infant in the perinatal period which is a major mode of transmission in regions where hepatitis B is endemic. The blood supply in developed countries has …

…positive). Lamivudine is taken orally at 100 mg/day for chronic hepatitis B. In studies where they were compared, lamivudine was equally effective to interferon-alpha in inducing a loss of serum HBeAg. It also has been shown to improve liver biopsy results in patients treated for one year. At the present time, other nucleoside analogues are being studied in clinical trials. The combination of interferon-alpha and a nucleodide analogue such as lamivudine is also under investigation.