An estimated 1 million people in the United States and 200 million people in the world are chronic carriers of hepatitis B virus (HBV). Chronic infection has been linked with a high incidence of hepatitis and cirrhosis and a 40% life-time chance of developing liver cancer. The development of animal models and more recently several types of cell culture systems for the study of HBV and its relatives has greatly expanded study of the growth and pathogenesis of this unique virus family. Other series of meetings covering hepatitis virus research have focused primarily on public health issues and have not provided a forum for the exchange of information and ideas among scientists interested in explaining the virus in molecular terms. The Molecular Biology of Hepatitis B Virus series of annual meetings begun in 1985 at Cold Spring Harbor have filled this need and have been well-attended by virtually every active research group working in this area as well as those interested in the molecular biology of HBV-dependent hepatitis delta virus. The successful format of the previous meetings will be maintained for the 1989 meeting. Sessions of oral presentation will consist of 10 minute presentations selected from submitted abstracts describing new, unpublished work. Other abstracts will be presented in poster sessions. Knowledgeable scientists will chair the individual sessions, presenting an introduction to the topic, stimulating discussion, and clarifying issues at the session end. Topics expected to be covered in the sessions include replication of the hepadnaviruses, the gene products, transcription, pathogenesis and immunity, hepatocellular carcinoma, and hepatitis delta virus. Meeting announcement will be by direct mailing to participants in previous years, as well as by announcement in Science, Nature, and Hepatology.
