ABSTRACT
The hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a small, partially double stranded DNA virus that causes acute and chronic hepatitis in humans. More than 350 million people are persistently infected with HBV, making HBV one of the most hazardous viral pathogens for humans and a global public health concern (Lee, 1997). Chronically infected individuals are at a risk of 15-25% of dying from HBV-related complications such as end-stage liver cirrhosis or hepatocellular carcinoma (Kao and Chen, 2002), accounting for over one million deaths annually (Lee, 1997). HBV has evolved a unique life cycle, resulting in the production of an enormous viral load during
active replication without killing the infected cell. This chapter sum m arizes current know ledge on genomic organization, life cycle and replication of HBV, as well as highlight clinically relevant mutations in the different HBV genes. Further, the current status of therapy and promising future perspectives on novel drug regimens are reviewed.
