Dear Colleagues,

 

Although current and future drugs may eradicate both hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) within decades, there is nothing as effective as primary prevention to curb the global burden of these two deadly infections. Vaccination is a mainstay of prevention, and this current issue of Hot Topics in Viral Hepatitis is completely devoted to the current status of development (for HCV) and implementation (for HBV) of vaccines against these two infections. 
Few topics in medicine have been as effective and also as controversial as vaccination campaigns. Their efficacy is clearly shown by the spectacular success of mass vaccination against smallpox. The last natural case of smallpox was reported in Somalia in 1977, and its global eradication was officially certified by the World Health Organization two years later. In spite of this, resistance and controversies have been frequent since the beginning, especially when governments started instituting policies of compulsory vaccinations. The famous "vaccine rebellion" that broke out in Rio de Janeiro in 1904 is just one example. These controversies still abound today and are based on ethical, political, religious, medical, or other grounds. From the medical standpoint, vaccines have been charged with all sorts of serious adverse events, sometimes lethal, always incurable, such as multiple sclerosis, autism, Guillain-Barré syndrome, and transverse myelitis. 
The vaccine against HBV is a perfect case-in-point. The effectiveness of vaccination against HBV is best exemplified by the dramatic decline of the incidence of primary hepatocellular carcinoma in China and the decline of the prevalence of chronic carriers in many parts of the world. Hepatitis B vaccine can be appropriately defined as the first vaccine in the history of medicine to be effective in preventing a human tumor. Yet, accusations against this vaccine have been so widespread, and antivaccine lobbies have been so powerful to the point of influencing governments in their policies, as was the case in France in 1998. 
At the same time, Hot Topics in Viral Hepatitis aims to review all the efficacy data concerning hepatits B vaccine and to dispel the controversy against its alleged toxicity. I trust you will read this article, written by three leading experts, with the same pleasure and interest as I did. 
The case for HCV is different, since, as of today, there is no vaccine available on the market to prevent this infection, although recent progress is encouraging. If one considers the relatively weak support from the industry, as compared to the investments in drug development, and that the new antivirals seem to pave the way for the eradication of this infection sometime during the next decade, then the story of vaccination against HCV should follow a very different path from that of HBV. Nonetheless, I thought it appropriate to ask an expert in the field to write a state-of-the-art review on the topic. Enjoy the reading!