[Epidemiology of Hepatitis Virus Infection and Its Control from the Epidemiological Point of View.]

In Japan, hepatitis and liver cancer measures, based on the hepatitis Basic Measures Law, have been pro- moted for 25 years with a focus on advancing the diagnosis, treatment, and inspection. In 2011, the estimated number of people persistently infected with the hepatitis virus in Japan was esti- mated to be about 2.1-2.8 per million people. In addition, "persistent infections latent in society of people unaware of their infection" has been estimated to involve 777,000 people. Since it is now a time of introducing new drugs for effective anti-viral therapy, in order to continue to more effectively implement the hepatitis and liver cancer measures, regional cooperation, such as the construction of a liver disease patient follow-up system, is important.