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Updated: Jun 29, 2026

Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction-Based Detection and Quantification of Hepatitis B Virus DNA
Published on: December 15, 2023
The global impact of vaccination against hepatitis B: a historical overview
Alessandro R Zanetti1, Pierre Van Damme, Daniel Shouval
1Department of Public Health-Microbiology-Virology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Milan, Via C. Pascal 36, 20133 Milan, Italy. alessandro.zanetti@unimi.it
Abstract:
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a world wide public health problem of major concern. HBV infection may lead to chronic liver disease, including cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Vaccination is the most effective measure to control and prevent hepatitis B and its long-term serious sequelae on global scale, both in terms of cost-effectiveness and benefit-cost ratios. According to the WHO recommendations, universal vaccination has been currently implemented in 168 countries world wide with an outstanding record of safety and efficacy. The effective implementation of such programmes of vaccination has resulted in a substantial decrease in disease burden, in the carrier rate and in hepatitis B-related morbidity and mortality. A future challenge is to overcome the social and economic hurdles which still hamper the introduction of hepatitis B vaccination on a global scale.
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