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Abstract
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a world wide public health problem of major concern.
HBV infection may lead to chronic liver disease, including cirrhosis and hepatocellular
carcinoma (HCC). Vaccination is the most effective measure to control and prevent
hepatitis B and its long-term serious sequelae on global scale, both in terms of cost-effectiveness
and benefit-cost ratios. According to the WHO recommendations, universal vaccination
has been currently implemented in 168 countries world wide with an outstanding record
of safety and efficacy. The effective implementation of such programmes of vaccination
has resulted in a substantial decrease in disease burden, in the carrier rate and
in hepatitis B-related morbidity and mortality. A future challenge is to overcome
the social and economic hurdles which still hamper the introduction of hepatitis B
vaccination on a global scale.