This book systematically and comprehensively discusses the biological, epidemiological, and clinical characteristics of the hepatitis E virus (HEV). It presents current knowledge of HEV and explores experimental methods, treatment, and prevention of HEV. First identified in the 1980s and cloned in 1990, HEV is the causative agent of hepatitis E, which mainly occurs in developing regions, such as Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, and significantly affects the health of the people in these areas. It is estimated that a third of the world's population has been infected with HEV, which is transmitted via the fecal-oral route and can infect both humans and animals.
In the second edition, new chapters are added to demonstrate the lifecycle, morphogenesis, and stem cell culture of hepatitis E virus. Although research on hepatitis E virus has made progress recently, there are still some problems that have not been solved. Those problems are discussed in this edition, which would be helpful for researchers to understand the problems on hepatitis E virus that they have faced. Meanwhile, the epidemiology, transmission, genetic evolution, animal models, treatment, and others in the related chapters of the first version were also updated according to the most recent research progress.
The book provides anoverview of HEV from benchside to bedside. It is a valuable resource for researchers in the field and those in the pharmaceutical industry developing HEV vaccines, as well as physicians involved in identifying and treating those infected with the virus.