The main cause of chronic liver diseases in Korea is the hepatitis B virus, which has the highest incidence rate, accounting for 60 – 70% of the causes of chronic liver disease and which significantly impacts the public health of Koreans, followed by hepatitis C virus. Hepatitis C viral antibody testing subsequently became mandatory for blood donors, which significantly reduced hepatitis caused by blood transfusion. Regarding hepatitis C, a report suspected its existence in 1979, but it wasn't until 1989, a year after the first identification of the hepatitis C virus that its presence in Korea was confirmed mainly following blood transfusion. The use of these reagents revealed that hepatitis A is rare in adults over 10 years of age. Since then, the medical field in Korea began to differentiate between types A and B and in 1973, immunodiagnostic reagents for hepatitis A and B viruses were introduced into Korea. After the first reports of hepatitis B virus, medical treatment and research on viral hepatitis were conducted in Korea, and in 1971, acute and chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, and liver cancer occurring in Korean adults were reported to be significantly related to the hepatitis B virus. In particular, Professor Chung was the first to confirm anicteric hepatitis, which is common among Koreans, and reported a clinical type that progresses to chronic liver disease without jaundice. The viral form was identified by liver biopsy of a patient with acute hepatitis in 1960. In Korea, research on viral hepatitis was first carried out by the United States (US) military doctors who served in the Korean War, and Professor Whan Kook Chung, who collaborated in the research as a Korean military doctor. More active vaccination and improved hygiene would be necessary to prevent HAV infection. In Korea, the young adult population is a high-risk group since this group is not vaccinated against HAV. Lastly, the Hepatitis A virus (HAV) is orally transmitted and results in acute hepatitis. Therefore, nationwide testing for anti-HCV would be a solution to identify patients infected with HCV but with no symptoms. Currently, the unsolved issue regarding HCV management is low disease awareness among patients and health care providers. Although no effective vaccine for HCV has been developed yet, highly effective and safe direct-acting antiviral therapy, which has a short treatment duration of 8 - 12 weeks, has made HCV eradication possible globally. In Korea, the prevalence of HCV is estimated to be approximately 1%. Hepatitis C virus (HCV), on the other hand, is a hepatotropic virus that is parenterally transmitted. The remaining issue has been to develop novel drugs that can cure HBV infection. Moreover, the introduction of potent nucleoside or nucleotide analogs led to the effective treatment of patients who had already been infected by HBV. Because of the nationwide vaccinations in the 1980s, hepatitis B surface antigen positive rates substantially decreased from 8% to 3%. Particularly, hepatitis B virus (HBV) is the leading cause of liver-related mortality. Viral hepatitis is the most important cause of acute and chronic liver disease in Korea.
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