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Foreword

This is intended as a resource for those who wish to find out more about hepatitis B and aims to strike a middle ground between the basic information available to the general public and the highly technical information in medical journals and to collate current information about the disease.

I apologise for the length of this foreword, if your new to this document please read the disclaimer and then dive in to the main text but come back and read this again. If you've read the document before please read the following sections and let me have your input and comments.

Where to get this document

The source version of this document is in Microsoft Word 97 It is available on request via e-mail to: HepB@dial.pipex.com.

ASCII text versions of this document are occasionally posted to the HEPV-L listserver and also to the news group sci.med.diseases.hepatitis or vie e-mail by sending a request to HepB@dial.pipex.com

Older versions or draft versions of this document can be obtained on request from HepB@dial.pipex.com

Corrections & Feedback

I have tried to be as accurate as I can but if you see any mistakes, have new information, can expand on any of the topics here, have a clearer explanation of any terms used or any other suggestions please contact me via e-mailand I'll try to include them.

I would also be grateful for some feedback (good or bad). Especially on how this document should evolve and would be grateful if you could read the next section and let me have your opinions.

History

The first version of this document was produced for my own use to collate information I had collected about hepatitis B and was basically a "cut and paste" job with some of my own words to string it together. I then decided to post it to the listserv HEPV-L as I hoped others would find the information useful. This had a positive response and it has grown into its present form(s). The document has taken over two years to reach its present state with all work and research being done in my own spare time and at my own expense. It's main aim being to provide a useful reference source for information about hepatitis B and to provide patients with answers to many of their questions.

• Version 4.1 - November 1997 - HTML
  This document. Just a conversion and minor changes the main thing has been to get it into HTML format and get some feedback I hope to start on Version 5 soon and would have liked to keep three versions of this document going, ASCII for newsgroups, HTML for the web and the Word version for printing but it has now got so large I can't manage all three. I've decided that the best place for it is the web as that's where it can be most easily accessed so the format may change. Let me know what you think of this web version...... Was it easy to read, could you find what you wanted, What would you add/remove/change etc?
  
• Version 4 - February 1997 - 183k text file and MS Word 95/97
  General revision and update. Inclusion of pictures and graphics into the source document. Reorganisation and restructuring. Written with the hope that it might end up on the WWW. The thought of general publication led to thoughts on copyright etc and there are many instances in the document were information has been "cut and pasted" copied straight into the document, lately I've tried to rewrite things or to indicate the source of information but some items I can't trace back to their originator and so give credit. If I have accidentally infringed any copyright here or not credited you for something please let me know so I can add you to my list of acknowledgements or remove the offending item. I hope to get this document reviewed by a medical professional in the near future.
  
• Version 3 - Feb 1996 - 117k text file also available in Ami Pro and MS word 95
  Additional information on new drugs, complimentary medicine, cirrhosis and the start of a glossary. This was reviewed by a doctor(s) at a local teaching hospital and I was told that there were no errors in the medical information.
  
• Version 2 - Oct 1995 - 58k-text file also available in Ami Pro
  This was to be a version reviewed by several doctors but after several months having not received feed back I started working on the next version.
  
• Version 2 (Draft) - August 1995 - 58k text file also available in Ami Pro
  The un-reviewed version containing information on virology, immunology, complementary medicine and drugs. This was the first version written for general distribution. I had hoped to write it as a FAQ but found the FAQ style restrictive and so decided to call it a "document" for want of a better word. This version was more objective and less personal than the first.
  
• Version 1.1 - June 95 -
  Spell checked version of version 1
  
• Version 1 - June 95 - 20k text file.
  Basics of Hepatitis B and treatment of chronic infection. Diary of experiences of interferon treatment. Thought this could form the basis of an FAQ..
  
• Version 0 - August 94 -
  There was no one document that could be called version 0, it was just my own personal notes.