Focus on hepatitis C virus genotype distribution in Tunisia prior to elimination: a 16-year retrospective study

Chouikha, Anissa; Khedhiri, Marwa; Triki, H.; Hammemi, Walid; Sadraoui, A.; Touzi, Henda; Yahia, Ahlem Ben; Chtourou, A.; Gargouri, Saba; Rajah, Lamia Feki Ben; Karray, H.; Triki, Henda

doi:10.1007/s00705-020-04918-7

Cited by 4 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 49 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…HCV genotypes 1 and 3 were the most prevalent genotypes (85%) with a predominance of subtype 1a overall. In contrast, previous studies conducted in the general population, either in Tunisia or in some neighboring countries from the Maghreb region, have shown a predominance of subtype 1b followed by subtype 2c (Djebbi et al, 2003(Djebbi et al, , 2004Mejri et al, 2005;Ezzikouri et al, 2013;Bettaieb et al, 2019;Chouikha et al, 2021). In this study, there were very few cases of subtype 1b detected among PWID, while genotype 2 was not detected at all.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

“…The difficulty of recruiting female PWID participants was previously reported in Tunisia ( Mosbah et al, 2018 ), Libya ( Mirzoyan et al, 2013 ), and Morocco ( Trimbitas et al, 2014 ). Additionally, this study shows that HCV-infected PWID attending an SSP program were somewhat younger than larger groups of HCV-infected patients from the general Tunisian population ( Bettaieb et al, 2019 ; Chouikha et al, 2021 ). The age of the studied PWID was close the age of previously studied populations of injection and non-injection drug users ( Sellami et al, 2016 ; Mosbah et al, 2018 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 68%

“…It allows the detection of genotypes 1a, 1b, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 as well as intergenotype mixed infections. In a next step, a selected subset of samples including non-determined genotypes and/or subtypes was selected to be assessed by nucleotide sequencing in the NS5b gene as described previously ( Chouikha et al, 2021 ). Obtained sequences were submitted to GenBank database under accession numbers MW221786 – MW221821 and MW678731 – MW678756 .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While the available estimations for the MENA region were limited to five countries only, this trend was confirmed in neighboring Libya and Morocco where genotypes 1 and 3 accounted for 86.6 and 90.5% of PWID, respectively ( Alashek and Altagdi, 2008 ; Trimbitas et al, 2014 ). In Tunisia, genotype 1b had been identified as the most common genotype in the general population (79.5–82.6%) followed by genotype 2 (10.1–13.3%) ( Djebbi et al, 2004 ; Mejri et al, 2005 ; Gower et al, 2014 ; Chouikha et al, 2021 ). However, to our knowledge, there are no published studies describing the distribution of HCV genotypes among PWID up to now.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Distribution of HCV Genotypes Among People Who Inject Drugs in Tunisia: New Evidence for Scaling Up Prevention and Treatment Toward National Elimination Goal

et al. 2021

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Little is known about the distribution of hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotypes among people who inject drugs (PWID) in North African countries, including Tunisia. This study aims to describe HCV genotypes circulating among Tunisian PWID. A cross-sectional study was conducted, and 128 HCV-positive PWID were recruited between 2018 and 2019 from community-based harm reduction centers. After informed consent, sociodemographic characteristics and risk behavior data were obtained using an interviewer-administrated questionnaire. Blood samples were collected for further serological and molecular testing. Overall, five women and 123 men were included. The median age was 39.5 years. The majority of PWID (56.3%) had less than a secondary level of education, were single (57%), were unemployed (65.6%), were incarcerated at least once (93.0%), and had a history of residency in at least one foreign country (50.8%). During the previous 12 months, 82.0% reported having reused syringes at least once, 43.8% shared syringes at least once, while 56.2% had at least one unprotected sexual relation, and 28.1% had more than two different sexual partners. Tattooing was reported among 60.2%. All positive results for HCV-infection by rapid testing were confirmed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). HCV-RNA was detectable in 79.7%. Genotyping showed a predominance of genotype 1 (52%) followed by genotype 3 (34%) and genotype 4 (10%). Four patients (4%) had an intergenotype mixed infection. Subtyping showed the presence of six different HCV subtypes as follows: 1a (53.2%), 1b (6.4%), 3a (33.0%), 4a (3.2%), and 4d (4.3%). This is the first study describing circulating HCV genotypes among PWID in Tunisia. The distribution of HCV genotypes is distinct from the general population with a predominance of subtypes 1a and 3a. These findings can be used to guide national efforts aiming to optimize the access of PWID to relevant HCV prevention and treatment measures including pangenotypic regimens for patients infected with HCV genotype 3.

show abstract