Abstract
The hepatitis virus has a long and elusive history. In Japan, hepatitis resulting from blood transfusions became an urgent problem after the World War II due to an increase in the number of transfusions after the establishment of blood banks. Social measures, such as the “yellow blood” compaign, soon became necessary. The Group for Investigation and Research on Serum Hepatitis was established by the Ministry of Health and Welfare in 1963 even though there was at that time no sign of the causal virus. The elusive virus was discovered quite unexpectedly soon afterward.
The scope of the research has been deepened further, and the hepatitis virus, especially prevalent in Asia, is gradually being brought under control. The practical utilization of hepatitis virus B vaccine, which was recently developed in Japan and also in the other coun-tries, is planned in Asian countries. For this purpose, a workshop on hepatitis B vaccine sponsored by the World Health Organization was recently held.
On the other hand, some of anti-virus agents and immunomodulators have been applied to treat chronic viral hepatitis, and we look forward to the results of ongoing research, much of which has already showed a great promise.
