Viruses, Vol. 16, Pages 618: Burden, Outcome, and Comorbidities of Extrahepatic Manifestations in Hepatitis B Virus Infections

Viruses, Vol. 16, Pages 618: Burden, Outcome, and Comorbidities of Extrahepatic Manifestations in Hepatitis B Virus Infections Viruses doi: 10.3390/v16040618 Authors: Busara Songtanin Nattanicha Chaisrimaneepan Roberto Mendóza Kenneth Nugent Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections affect approximately 296 million people around the world, and the prevalence of any past or present HBV infection during the years 2015–2018 was as high as 4.3%. Acute HBV infection often presents with nonspecific symptoms and is usually self-limited, but 5% of patients can have persistent infections leading to chronic HBV infection and the risk of turning into chronic HBV infection is significantly higher in babies with vertical transmission (95%). Patients with chronic HBV infection are usually asymptomatic, but 15 to 40% of chronic HBV carriers develop cirrhosis and/or hepatocellular carcinoma. In addition to liver-related disorders, HBV is also associated with several extrahepatic complications, including glomerulonephritis, cryoglobulinemia, neurologic disorders, psychological manifestations, polyarthritis, and dermatologic disorders. Making the diagnosis of HBV can be challenging since patients with chronic infections can remain symptom-free for decades before developing cirrhosis or hepatocellular carcinoma, and patients with acute HBV infection may have only mild, nonspecific symptoms. Therefore, understanding how this virus causes extrahepatic complications can help ...
Source: Viruses - Category: Virology Authors: Tags: Review Source Type: research