Hepatitis B Vaccinology in a Time of Rising Mortality: Advances in Preventive and Therapeutic Vaccine Innovation
A Special Issue of Vaccines (ISSN 2076-393X) belonging to the section "Hepatitis Virus Vaccines".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2027 | Viewed by 271
Editors
Interests: hepatitis B virus (HBV); preventive vaccines; therapeutic vaccines; functional cure; HBV immunology; viral hepatitis elimination; chronic HBV infection; immunotherapeutic strategies; birth‑dose and adult vaccination
Interests: hepatitis B virus (HBV); preventive vaccines; therapeutic vaccines; functional cure; HBV immunology; viral hepatitis elimination; chronic HBV infection; immunotherapeutic strategies; birth‑dose and adult vaccination
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Viral hepatitis has emerged as one of the most pressing global health challenges of the decade. The Global Hepatitis Report 2024 reveals a striking and concerning trend: deaths attributable to viral hepatitis increased from 1.1 million in 2019 to 1.3 million in 2022, making it the second leading infectious cause of mortality worldwide, on par with tuberculosis. Notably, hepatitis B alone accounts for 83% of these deaths, representing approximately 1.1 million fatalities per year. This upward trajectory stands in stark contrast to the declining mortality observed for other major infectious diseases, underscoring a widening global health gap.
Despite the availability of a highly effective prophylactic vaccine for more than four decades, persistent gaps in birth‑dose coverage, incomplete childhood immunization, and limitations of the current therapies for chronic hepatitis B continue to sustain HBV transmission and chronic infection. The resulting burden—cirrhosis, liver failure, and hepatocellular carcinoma—reflects both biological complexity and systemic inequities in prevention and care.
At the same time, rapid advances in adaptive and innate immune system understanding, antigen engineering, new adjuvant development, vector platforms, and combination immunotherapeutic strategies are redefining the field of HBV vaccinology. Therapeutic vaccines, in particular, hold promise for restoring HBV‑specific immunity and achieving functional cure, a long‑sought milestone in the management of chronic hepatitis B.
This Special Issue invites contributions spanning basic mechanisms, translational research, clinical innovation, and implementation science. Advancing both preventive and therapeutic vaccinology is essential to reverse current mortality trends and accelerate progress toward the elimination of hepatitis B as a public health threat.
Ref. World Health Organization. Global Hepatitis Report 2024. Geneva: WHO; 2024.
Dr. Julio César Aguilar
Dr. Osamu Yoshida
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- hepatitis B virus (HBV)
- preventive vaccines
- therapeutic vaccines
- functional cure
- HBV immunology
- viral hepatitis elimination
- chronic HBV infection
- immunotherapeutic strategies
- birth‑dose and adult vaccination
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