Hepatitis B In India: Prevention And Management

Along with increasing awareness on hepatitis B, immense knowledge and information has been added in the last decade, particularly on the treatment of chronic hepatitis B. This book Hepatitis B in India: Prevention and Management, conceived on the occasion of the second National Single Theme Symposium on “Hepatitis B in India: Therapeutic Options and Prevention Strategies” under the auspices of INASL in September 2000, is an honest endeavour of the editors to create an updated and comprehensive manual on hepatitis B, especially in the Indian context. The contributions have been made by the leading experts from all over India. In addition, a few areas in which not much national work is available, have been covered well by the experts from abroad. The chapters included in this manual which give new dimension to the book are on transmission of hepatitis B in children and neonates, in family contacts, and in injecting drug users; reactivation of hepatitis B; acute on chronic liver disease; HBV genotypes; viral kinetics; screening and prevention of HCC; liver transplantation; HBV mutants; pre- and post-vaccination screening and the need for boosters; economic burden of hepatitis B in India; ideal schedule for vaccinating newborns in EPI in India; vaccine failure, etc. One major highlight of the book is the section on hospital policies in reference to hepatitis B patients. Issues like “routine screening for HBV before surgery” and “policy for HBs Ag positive health care worker” are timely and crucial in the Indian scenario.