Molecular Biology of Human Hepatitis Viruses

Hepatitis A and B viruses have infected nearly half the current world population; and as many as 500 million people are still infected with the hepatitis B or C virus today. Hepatitis B vaccination is effective but not universally adopted and no vaccine is available against hepatitis C. Treatment is prohibitively expensive for areas of high endemicity or prevalence and not universally effective.This important and timely book covers recent advances in understanding the molecular biology of hepatitis viruses. The advances have contributed new insights into the molecular mechanisms involved in replication of genetic information and in gene expression; and have translated into diagnostics; prevention and development of antiviral drugs.