Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in Africa: a review

Abstract

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a viral pandemic and a leading cause of chronic liver disease. This review highlights the epidemiology and management of Hepatitis C in Africa. We searched for articles on medline using the terms, “Hepatitis C”, “Prevalence”, “Epidemiology”, “Africa” and “Treatment”. The bibliographies of the articles found were used to find other references. We included articles published after 1995 only. The data was summarized and presented in tables and figures. Africa has the highest WHO estimated regional HCV prevalence (5.3%). Egypt has the highest prevalence (17.5%) of HCV in the world. Genotypes commonly found in Africa are 1, 4 and 5. Genotype 3 is found in Egypt and parts of Central Africa. Blood transfusion is a major means of acquisition of HCV infection. While treatment with peginterferon and ribavirin is recommended for patients with chronic HCV, no data were found on their use in Africa. Neither were there any data on definitive management (liver transplantation) for those with end stage disease. Data on HCV infection in Africa are scarce. This suggests that hepatitis C is still a neglected disease in many countries. Limited data exist in literature on HCV in Africa.

Seasonal variation of hepatitis B and C virus infection among HIV- and non-HIV-infected patients in Benin City, Nigeria

“…Sub-Saharan Africa is reported to have the highest burden of HBV and HCV infection in the world [1,2]. As a result of shared routes of transmission, co-infection of HCV and HBV is common among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients [3,4].…”

Broad Anti-Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) Antibody Responses Are Associated with Improved Clinical Disease Parameters in Chronic HCV Infection

“…Symptomatic acute HCV infection is rare; therefore, HCV has the potential to spread undetected among those at risk. In countries with a high prevalence, a poor health care infrastructure and a lack of funding make eradication of HCV unlikely through curative therapies alone (1,3). Thus, effective preventative strategies are needed to achieve the global eradication of the virus (4).…”

Prevalence of hepatitis B and C viruses among hemodialysis patients in Southern West Bank, Palestine

“…Genotype 4 is characteristics for the Middle East, Egypt and central Africa, and genotype 5 is almost exclusively found in South Africa. 8,[16][17][18] Diagnosis of acute infection is often missed because a majority of infected people have no symptoms. The presence of antibodies against the hepatitis C virus indicates that a person is or has been infected.…”