| Theme | Hepatitis B: Trends & Topics | |
|---|---|---|
| Title | Epidemiology of Hepatitis B Virus Infection in Japan | |
| Publish Date | 2020/02 | |
| Author | Junko Tanaka | Department of Epidemiology, Infectious Disease Control and Prevention, Hiroshima University Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences |
| [ Summary ] | In Japan, measures against viral hepatitis are being promoted with a view to testing, diagnosis and treatment, such as hepatitis virus testing for residents and a medical expenses subsidy program based on the "Hepatitis Control Basic Law". In particular, for HBV, the HBs antigen positive rate of the population born after the HBV mother‒to‒child infection prevention project (after 1986) shows a very low value. Similar to HCV and HIV infection, HBV infection associated with blood transfusion is almost suppressed. It can be expected that horizontal infection will be further suppressed by regular inoculation of HB vaccine started in 2016. In the future, it would be difficult to determine the HB vaccination rate. The remaining issue is how to prevent the progression of liver pathology in people with HBV diagnosed by the hepatitis virus test developed nationwide in the 2000s. |
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