Viral hepatitis

The goal of this book is to highlight the recent developments in research on viral hepatitis with contributions from internationally recognized leaders in their fields. The book is aimed at a broad group of physicians and scientists with interests in viral hepatitis and covers hepatitis viruses A through E. It gives an overall review of the various topics related to viral hepatitis with up-to-date literature and provides good reading material and an eye opener to the beginners and may serve as a pointer to recent literature for the experts.

The basic aspects to recent advances related to viral hepatitis have been covered. In many instances, a description of every pertinent study, whether negative or positive, is given. Each contributor has tried to discuss the topic at hand, to indicate the areas of ambiguity, and to suggest areas that warrant further study. However, this has been accomplished with more success in some chapters as compared to others, but this may be expected in a publication with multiple authors.

The book is divided into different sections including hepatitis A to E with two other sections on liver biology and clinical aspects of viral liver disease. The chapter, “Hepatitis and hemophilia” is particularly useful. The text is easily readable, is written in simple language and is easy to follow.

The chapters on hepatitis B and hepatitis C are particularly well written with appropriate and recent references. One of the chapters on hepatitis B covers immunopathology very well. It also pays attention to the molecular biology of the virus. The clinical chapter on hepatitis B is exhaustive. The section on hepatitis C virus covers a confusing and complicated topic well. It integrates the immunology and pathology with the new simplified pathology grading system, treatment, epidemiology, and a discussion of molecular virology. Acute hepatitis, severe acute hepatitis and acute liver failure are covered extremely well with complete discussions of management, prognosis, criteria for listing, and liver transplantation. The references are chosen well and the Tables are very useful for clinicians. The chapter on extrahepatic manifestations is well-referenced and discusses the difficult management of patients with glomerulonephritis and viral hepatitis. There is some overlap of information between chapters, but the information is mostly additive rather than repetitive. The chapter on molecular diagnostic testing is useful for the novice or non-molecular biologists.

In summary, the book is an authoritative source of up-to-date information on all aspects of viral hepatitis. It is illustrated with colourful pictures and graphs. The majority of the chapters in this book provide state of the art discussions of various aspects of viral hepatitis in clear, concise and well referenced research and language. However, in some areas in which expansion of knowledge has been particularly rapid, there is limited new information. This book will be useful to individuals from diverse backgrounds who are interested in viral hepatitis and who want concise, but complete, coverage of the topic. It is also useful for the internist and general practitioner for precisely the same reasons. The book is useful as a primer for those trying to understand the molecular biology and virology of viral hepatitis. The particular value of this book is that it covers differential diagnosis, molecular biology, immunopathology, and management in almost complete fashion. It has extensive references and, therefore, is a fine resource for practitioners and researchers interested in viral hepatitis.