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World J Meta-Anal. Apr 28, 2021; 9(2): 139-152
Published online Apr 28, 2021. doi: 10.13105/wjma.v9.i2.139
Viral hepatitis: A brief introduction, review of management, advances and challenges
Olga Fagan, Paul Armstrong, Kevin Van Der Merwe, Daniela Crosnoi, Chris Steele, Julia Sopena-Falco, Vikrant Parihar
Olga Fagan, Paul Armstrong, Kevin Van Der Merwe, Daniela Crosnoi, Chris Steele, Vikrant Parihar, Department of Gastroenterology, Letterkenny University Hospital, Letterkenny F92 AE81, Ireland
Julia Sopena-Falco, Department of Gastroenterology, Saint Vincent’s University Hospital, Dublin 04, Ireland
Author contributions: The authors were involved in writing different aspects of the draft which were put together and amended by the last author.
Conflict-of-interest statement: None of the authors has any conflict of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Vikrant Parihar, MBBS, MD, MRCP, Consultant Physician-Scientist, Department of Gastroenterology, Letterkenny University Hospital, Kilmacrennan Road, Letterkenny F92 AE81, Ireland. vikpar37@yahoo.com
Received: January 27, 2021
Peer-review started: January 27, 2021
First decision: February 25, 2021
Revised: February 26, 2021
Accepted: April 23, 2021
Article in press: April 23, 2021
Published online: April 28, 2021
Processing time: 90 Days and 23.7 Hours
Abstract

Viral hepatitis represents a major public health hazard and is associated with significant global mortality. Over the last decade, there have been significant developments in the prevention and treatment of viral hepatitis. These changes have led to a situation whereby global elimination has become a realistic goal, fully endorsed by the World Health Organization (WHO). By 2030, the WHO aims to reduce viral hepatitis mortality by 65% and reduce new infections by 90% by 2030. These are ambitious targets and will only be met through a sustained programme. This will require expertise from hepatologists and virologists and the fields of public health and primary care. In this article, we review the causes of viral hepatitis, its management through prevention and treatments, and the most pressing challenges and recent advances.

Keywords: Viral Hepatitis; Management; Direct-acting antivirals; Advances; Challenges

Core Tip: Viral hepatitis represents a major public health hazard and is associated with significant global mortality. The aim of this article is to provide a concise description of the management, advances and challenges in the field of hepatitis caused by hepatotropic viruses A-E.