Measurement of Cell-Mediated Immune Response in Woodchucks

Infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a major health problem, with 350 million people chronically infected worldwide. Chronic HBV infection is characterized by severe hepatic disease sequelae, including chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis of the liver, and hepatocellular carcinoma (1 ). The immunologic mechanisms that predispose to the development of chronic HBV infection are not completely understood. However, the cell-mediated immunity (CMI) to HBV is believed to play a crucial role in protection against viral infection, and development of efficient antiviral CMI is probably needed to avoid viral persistence and progression to chronic hepatitis (1 ).