Worldwide, hepatitis B virus is a major cause of liver disease (acute and chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis and liver cancer). Approximately, 350 million individuals are infected. According to WHO, hepatitis B virus infection caused 750 000 deaths in 2000. European countries are far from being spared by this dreadful agent.

The first EASL Clinical Practice Guidelines aim to update existing guidelines for the optimal management of chronic hepatitis B. Publication is particularly timely, given the recent increase in understanding of the natural history of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and the evaluation and licensing of several new antiviral agents.
"The need for global guidance in medical practice and tools to refine reimbursement policies in different European states and abroad has led EASL to start an ambitious Clinical Practice Guidelines initiative. This has now emerged as one of the priority actions for our association."
Professor Jean-Michel Pawlotsky, EASL Secretary General (2008)