Viral hepatitis

Viral hepatitis is still one of the most common causes of acute and chronic liver disease worldwide. Major advances have been made in our knowledge of these diseases, many during the past year, Molecular biology and clinical studies have improved our understanding of the mechanisms of antiviral drug s, as well as viral resistance to therapy. The risks of hepatitis A in pati ents with chronic liver disease have been confirmed, and the efficacy of he patitis A vaccines in these patients has been proven. Aggressive combinatio n therapy has emerged as a promising strategy for chronic hepatitis B and C , and techniques for immune prophylaxis for hepatitis B are being improved. Liver transplantation has become routine for end-stage hepatitis B virus l iver disease, and new strategies to prevent and treat recurrence are being explored. This review discusses the recent advances in our knowledge of hep atitis viruses A through G, focusing on the literature of the past year, (C ) 1999 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Inc.