Progress in the prevention and control of viral hepatitis type B: closing remarks.

Hepatitis type B remains an important disease globally. Rapid advances have been made during the last two decades in the understanding of the biology of HBV, the complex interaction between the virus and the host, and the pathology and the clinical aspects of infection. Mass vaccination has been shown to be a safe and highly effective means for the control and prevention of hepatitis B. The presence of a large worldwide reservoir of carriers requires a continuous effort to develop new drugs for the treatment of persistent HBV infection. Efforts to sustain immunization programs and to make vaccines and drugs available to countries with limited resources, are the main challenges to the eradication of hepatitis B in the next few decades.