Hepatitis C Virus

Hepatitis C virus (HCV), a major causative agent of chronic liver disease, is spread throughout the world and around 170 million people are persistently infected. In this volume, world-leading experts in the field of HCV research have compiled the most recent scientific advances to provide a comprehensive and very timely overview of the various facets of HCV. The book starts with a discussion of the possible origin of HCV and its spread among the human population. The focus of the subsequent chapters is on available cell culture and in vivo models before shifting to the molecular and cellular principles underlying the viral replication cycle. These chapters are complemented by insightful descriptions of the innate and adaptive immune responses to HCV as well as the virus-associated pathogenesis. Finally, the development of antiviral therapies, which is closely linked with progress in basic research, and the implementation of those therapies into present and future daily clinical practice are highlighted.

Hepatitis B and C cause most cases of hepatitis in the United States and the world. The two diseases account for about a million deaths a year and 78 percent of world's hepatocellular carcinoma and more than half of all fatal cirrhosis. In 2013 viral hepatitis, of which hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) are the most common types, surpassed HIV and AIDS to become the seventh leading cause of death worldwide. The world now has the tools to prevent hepatitis B and cure hepatitis C. Perfect vaccination could eradicate HBV, but it would take two generations at least. In the meantime, there is no cure for the millions of people already infected. Conversely, there is no vaccine for HCV, but new direct-acting antivirals can cure 95 percent of chronic infections, though these drugs are unlikely to reach all chronically-infected people anytime soon. This report, the first of two, examines the feasibility of hepatitis B and C elimination in the United States and identifies critical success factors. The phase two report will outline a strategy for meeting the elimination goals discussed in this report.

The global epidemic of hepatitis B and C is a serious public health problem. Hepatitis B and C are the major causes of chronic liver disease and liver cancer in the world. In the next 10 years, 150,000 people in the United States will die from liver disease or liver cancer associated with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) or hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections. Today, between 800,000 and 1.4 million people in the United States have chronic hepatitis B and between 2.7 and 3.9 million have chronic hepatitis C. People most at risk for hepatitis B and C often are the least likely to have access to medical services. Reducing the rates of illness and death associated with these diseases will require greater awareness and knowledge among health care workers, improved identification of at-risk people, and improved access to medical care. Hepatitis B is a vaccine-preventable disease. Although federal public health officials recommend that all newborns, children, and at-risk adults receive the vaccine, about 46,000 new acute cases of the HBV infection emerge each year, including 1,000 in infants who acquire the infection during birth from their HBV-positive mothers. Unfortunately, there is no vaccine for hepatitis C, which is transmitted by direct exposure to infectious blood. Hepatitis and Liver Cancer identifies missed opportunities related to the prevention and control of HBV and HCV infections. The book presents ways to reduce the numbers of new HBV and HCV infections and the morbidity and mortality related to chronic viral hepatitis. It identifies priorities for research, policy, and action geared toward federal, state, and local public health officials, stakeholder, and advocacy groups and professional organizations.

In the past few years, remarkable progress has been made in our understanding of HCV biology, pathogenesis of infection, and structure-function relationships. This has led to quantum advances in clinical efficacy and tolerability. Yet, in spite of this amazing progress, there remain obstacles to widespread successful treatment. These issues include biological failures even with direct-acting agents, lack of options for individual with organ failures, drug-drug interactions, access to medications either due to lack of availability or affordability, and psychiatric and social issues. These problems are likely to remain in the future. Therefore, this book has been created by distinguished faculties from around the world to address the progress in our understanding of HCV infection and to review new treatment options, limitations, and accessibility of new therapeutic options.

This book presents up-to-date, practically oriented information on major topics in chronic hepatitis C. The coverage encompasses epidemiology; diagnosis, including molecular methods; treatment and challenges; and the management of co-infections. Readers will find guidance on pretherapeutic evaluation with respect to disease severity and extrahepatic manifestations. Resistance to antiviral treatment and its management are discussed, and the nature of optimal follow-up is addressed in detail. Treatment of HCV/HIV co-infection is considered separately, and the approach in special patient populations is thoroughly examined. Chronic Hepatitis C will be of high value for general practitioners and specialists in gastroenterology, infectious diseases, and internal medicine. It will be international in scope in terms of both authorship and appeal.

Saliva Protection and Transmissible Diseases provides a review of saliva protection, raising debate on micro-organisms potentially transmissible in saliva, and also considering the evidence on diseases that may be transmitted by kissing. Saliva is a complex body fluid essential to health, especially mastication, swallowing and speech, and hyposalivation can lead to dysfunction and even infection. More serious pathogens, such as herpes viruses and papillomaviruses can be conveyed by kissing, as can potentially lethal micro-organisms present in some saliva, such as meningococci, fungal organisms and Ebola viruses. Stipulates the defensive roles of saliva, an important topic not previously reviewed in-depth in literature Provides awareness that saliva also transmits infectious agents that can produce serious or even lethal diseases Gives understanding that kissing may be an at-risk practice

The cutting-edge new edition of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's famed "Yellow Book" is the most authoritative guide of its kind, with vital pre-travel healthcare tips and essential information on health risks abroad. It includes vaccination recommendations and disease prevention strategies for HIV/AIDS, cholera, hepatitis, influenza, plague, SARS, smallpox, viral hemorrhagic fevers, and many other illnesses.