DOI: 10.21276/sasjm.2018.4.10.3

Pages: 156-170

Hepatitis B was recognized as infectious disease dating many years ago in human history but its etiology was recently identified, the first discoveries reported a serum protein called Australia antigen which was lately recognized as hepatitis B virus (HBV) surface antigen (HBsAg) and the clinical detection of HBsAg was the first steps allowing the first screening of a strangely infected blood donors for an infectious and dangerous pathogen transmissible to some blood recipients. The development of modern and advanced virus diagnostic tools with high sensitive radio immune assays directed to the deep clinical identification of viral infection markers whereas successful cloning and sequencing of HBV genome allowed the understanding of HBV life cycle, and guided the development of efficient antiviral vaccines and drugs up to nowadays where HBV vaccine was the first vaccine in effective use to be synthesized by genome editing technology. Unfortunately, some current problems such as inaccuracy of recognition of occult HBV infections, the viral potential reactivation, lack of complete protection against mutants and heterologous HBV genotypes by HBV vaccines and therapeutic drugs, and the inability to achieve a complete cure of chronic HBV infections, and its association with hepatocellular carcinoma are still unescapable worldwide health problems.