[Hepatitis B virus infection: Natural history, clinical manifestations and therapeutic approach]

Chronic hepatitis B infection remains a major public-health problem, with approximately 260 million world-wide cases of infection. Recent advances in the understanding of the natural history of chronic hepatitis B infection have led to progress in the care of infected patients. Sustained viral suppression is now possible for a majority of treated patients and is associated with a decrease in the morbidity and mortality attributable to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Complete cure is however not yet possible, due to the long-term persistence of viral DNA in hepatocytes of treated patients. Assessing the risk of viral reactivation in patients receiving immunosuppressive therapy is an increasingly frequent situation in clinical practice and its management is guided by both the patient's serological status and the potency of the immunosuppressive regimen. This review aims to present the clinical and biological presentations of chronic hepatitis B infection, the modalities of antiviral treatment, and how to assess the risk of viral reactivation in patients receiving immunosuppressive therapy.