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Experts Discuss the Latest Trends in HBV
While hepatitis B virus continues to be a major global health problem, incidence in the U.S. has significantly declined since the introduction of the universal vaccine in the 1990s. However, HBV prevalence may be increasing in U.S. households due to immigration, according to experts interviewed by Healio Gastroenterology.
“Most new cases of acute HBV in the U.S. are lower, therefore the incidence of HBV is lower, but the prevalence is higher due to immigration from Eastern Europe and Asia, all areas with hepatitis B,” Robert S. Brown Jr., MD, MPH, chief, division of gastroenterology and hepatology, New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, said in an interview. “On a worldwide basis, it is the most prevalent form of liver disease and is commonly caught due to mother-to-child transmission.”
In this month’s cover story, Brown and other experts further discuss the incidence and prevalence of HBV in the U.S., as well as the need for increased screening and the latest research that could lead to a cure.
A number of new clinical practice guidelines are also highlighted in this issue, including recommendations on the use of endoscopy after colorectal cancer resection, the management of liver disease during pregnancy, and the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care’s new recommendations opposing routine colonoscopy screening for colorectal cancer.
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The Editors Healio Gastroenterologygastroenterology@slackinc.com