Hepatitis C virus and HIV infections among people who inject drugs in the Middle East and North Africa: a neglected public health burden?

Mumtaz, Ghina R.; Weiss, Helen A.; Abu‐Raddad, Laith J.

doi:10.7448/ias.18.1.20582

Cited by 17 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 14 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…49 It bears notice that most settings with high HCV prevalence among PWID in Afghanistan have witnessed emerging and growing HIV epidemics among this population in recent years. 65,67 This affirms the utility of using HCV antibody prevalence as a biomarker for HIV epidemic potential, as has been demonstrated recently in an ecological analysis of the empirical association between HCV prevalence and HIV prevalence in MENA countries. 71 Accordingly, the geographic distribution of HCV prevalence can be used to inform the expansion of harm reduction services with public health benefits for both HIV and HCV.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 70%

“…This is often a shortcoming in other MENA countries. 6,[12][13][14]16 Although substantial, HCV prevalence among PWID estimated at 32.6% (Table 3) is lower than that reported in MENA 65,67 and globally. 27 There also appears to be regional variations in prevalence, and that the prevalence may have declined in parts of Afghanistan in recent years ( Table 2).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The epidemiology of hepatitis C virus in Afghanistan: systematic review and meta-analysis

Chemaitelly

Mahmud

Rahmani

et al. 2015

International Journal of Infectious Diseases

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 70%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

The epidemiology of hepatitis C virus in Afghanistan: systematic review and meta-analysis

Chemaitelly

Mahmud

Rahmani

et al. 2015

International Journal of Infectious Diseases

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Our results suggest that prisons are a setting predictive of higher HCV antibody prevalence (Table ), possibly because of higher‐risk injecting in prisons, or that this setting tends to be frequented with higher‐risk PWID. Other evidence supports this conjecture, and indicated an important role for incarceration in the dynamics of HCV and HIV transmission in MENA . This highlights the need for harm reduction and HCV/HIV testing and treatment services in prisons.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 75%

“…As a consequence of practices such as sharing of needles and/or syringes, people who inject drugs (PWID) are a key population at high risk of HCV infection, half of whom are estimated to have been infected with HCV globally . MENA is particularly vulnerable to injecting drug use, being at the epicenter of major drug production sites and trade routes . Recent evidence has suggested that targeting PWID for HCV screening is critical for program efficiency in identifying HCV infections .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The status of hepatitis C virus infection among people who inject drugs in the Middle East and North Africa

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background and aims People who inject drugs (PWID) are a key population at high risk of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. The aim of this study was to delineate the epidemiology of HCV in PWID in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Methods Syntheses of data were conducted on the standardized and systematically assembled databases of the MENA HCV Epidemiology Synthesis Project, 1989–2018. Random‐effects meta‐analyses and meta‐regressions were performed. Meta‐regression variables included country, study site, year of data collection and year of publication [to assess trends in HCV antibody prevalence over time], sample size and sampling methodology. Numbers of chronically infected PWID across MENA were estimated. The Shannon Diversity Index was calculated to assess genotype diversity. Results Based on 118 HCV antibody prevalence measures, the pooled mean prevalence in PWID for all MENA was 49.3% [95% confidence interval (CI) = 44.4–54.1%]. The country‐specific pooled mean ranged from 21.7% (95% CI = 4.9–38.6%) in Tunisia to 94.2% (95% CI = 90.8–96.7%) in Libya. An estimated 221 704 PWID were chronically infected, with the largest numbers found in Iran at 68 526 and in Pakistan at 46 554. There was no statistically significant evidence for a decline in HCV antibody prevalence over time. Genotype diversity was moderate (Shannon Diversity Index of 1.01 out of 1.95; 52.1%). The pooled mean percentage for each HCV genotype was highest in genotype 3 (42.7%) and in genotype 1 (35.9%). Conclusion Half of people who inject drugs in the Middle East and North Africa appear to have ever been infected with hepatitis C virus, but there are large variations in antibody prevalence among countries. In addition to > 200 000 chronically infected current people who inject drugs, there is an unknown number of people who no longer inject drugs who may have acquired hepatitis C virus during past injecting drug use. Harm reduction services must be expanded, and innovative strategies need to be employed to ensure accessibility to hepatitis C virus testing and treatment.

show abstract

“…Moreover, genotypes 1b (in Tunisia and Morocco), 1, 4 (Nigeria) are predominant in North Africa (9). It has recently estimated that PWID people in the MENA are considerably higher than the global figures with over a half of million cases, from whom a half are infected (10).…”

Section: Nojoomi F Et Almentioning

confidence: 99%

High prevalence and risk factors of hepatitis B, C and E infections among Middle Eastern countries

Nojoomi¹,

Ghasemian²,

Fallahi³

et al. 2018

Immunopathol Persa

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Hepatitis agents infect the liver through fecal oral (hepatitis A) or blood and other body secretions (hepatitis B and C). The aim of this systematic review was the determination of status and risk factors of hepatitis agents among Middle East countries. For this systematic review, the terms "transmission route", "prevalence/ rate", "Middle East", "North Africa", "Hepatitis B" and "Hepatitis C" were searched from motor engines of Google Scholar, PubMed, Science Direct, Scopus and SciVerse. Exclusion criteria were "migrants to the region" and "healthy carriers". The results showed that the presence of hepatitis B and C viruses in poor and populated areas, mostly in North Africa. Hepatitis B, as the most common infectious disease in the world, especially in Africa was found with a high endemic status except for Tunisia and Morocco. Moreover, it was demonstrated that Palestine, Yemen, Egypt, Oman, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia have high hepatitis B endemic features. The prevalence of HCV has been reported as high in 12 MENA countries in 2010. Hepatitis E was determined to be in a high prevalence among countries of the region. The results showed that the presence of hepatitis B and C viruses in poor and more populated areas, mostly in North Africa is very high. Hepatitis A was found at a very high rate among young children in several countries in this region. Hepatitis B, as the most common infectious disease in the world, especially in Africa was found with a high endemic status except for Tunisia and Morocco. Moreover, it was demonstrated that Palestine, Yemen, Egypt, Oman, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia have high hepatitis B endemicity. The prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) has been reported as high in 12 MENA countries in 2010. Hepatitis E was determined to be in a high prevalence among countries of the region. AbstractCitation: Nojoomi F, Ghasemian A, Fallahi S, Abdollahzadeh S. High prevalence and risk factors of hepatitis B, C and E infections among Middle Eastern countries.

show abstract

Hepatitis C virus and HIV infections among people who inject drugs in the Middle East and North Africa: a neglected public health burden?

Cited by 17 publications

References 14 publications

The epidemiology of hepatitis C virus in Afghanistan: systematic review and meta-analysis

The epidemiology of hepatitis C virus in Afghanistan: systematic review and meta-analysis

The status of hepatitis C virus infection among people who inject drugs in the Middle East and North Africa

High prevalence and risk factors of hepatitis B, C and E infections among Middle Eastern countries

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About