Association between an MHC Class II Allele and Clearance of Hepatitis B Virus in the Gambia

Infection with the hepatitis B virus (HBV) may result in a number of conditions ranging from asymptomatic persistent carriage to fulminant hepatitis with liver failure. Most infected people have acute hepatitis during which the virus is eliminated. About 80 percent of adults in West Africa have been infected with HBV, and in about 15 percent of these persons the virus is not cleared. 1 Persistent HBV infection predisposes patients to chronic liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma 2 ; HBV-related hepatocellular carcinoma is the leading cause of death among men of working age in the Gambia. 3 , 4 The outcome of HBV infection does . . .