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Meta-Analysis
. 2015 Nov 11;10(11):e0141715.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0141715. eCollection 2015.

The Seroprevalence of Hepatitis C Antibodies in Immigrants and Refugees from Intermediate and High Endemic Countries: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Christina Greenaway  1   2   3 , Ann Thu Ma  4 , Lorie A Kloda  5 , Marina Klein  6 , Sonya Cnossen  2 , Guido Schwarzer  7 , Ian Shrier  2   3
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

The Seroprevalence of Hepatitis C Antibodies in Immigrants and Refugees from Intermediate and High Endemic Countries: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Christina Greenaway et al. PLoS One. .

Erratum in

Abstract

Background & aims: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a significant global health issue that leads to 350,000 preventable deaths annually due to associated cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Immigrants and refugees (migrants) originating from intermediate/high HCV endemic countries are likely at increased risk for HCV infection due to HCV exposure in their countries of origin. The aim of this study was to estimate the HCV seroprevalence of the migrant population living in low HCV prevalence countries.

Methods: Four electronic databases were searched from database inception until June 17, 2014 for studies reporting the prevalence of HCV antibodies among migrants. Seroprevalence estimates were pooled with a random-effect model and were stratified by age group, region of origin and migration status and a meta-regression was modeled to explore heterogeneity.

Results: Data from 50 studies representing 38,635 migrants from all world regions were included. The overall anti-HCV prevalence (representing previous and current infections) was 1.9% (95% CI, 1.4-2.7%, I2 96.1). Older age and region of origin, particularly Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe were the strongest predictors of HCV seroprevalence. The estimated HCV seroprevalence of migrants from these regions was >2% and is higher than that reported for most host populations.

Conclusion: Adult migrants originating from Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa and Eastern Europe are at increased risk for HCV and may benefit from targeted HCV screening.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Flowchart of the identification, screening, and inclusion/exclusion of studies.
Fig 2
Fig 2. HCV seroprevalence for all included studies stratified by population group and sorted by year of publication (Forest Plot).
Regions of Origin: Latin America & Caribbean (LAC), Eastern Europe & Central Asia (ECA), Middle East & North Africa (MENA), Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), South Asia (SA), East Asia & Pacific (EAP), Mixed (a single study reporting seroprevalence from multiple regions of origin).
Fig 3
Fig 3. HCV seroprevalence for all included studies stratified by migrants region of origin (Forest Plot).
Fig 4
Fig 4. Anti-HCV seroprevalence stratified by region of origin (Map).
Weighted regional HCV estimates (in bold) were based on country specific seroprevalence from the WHO or other more recent data (Table A in S4 Appendix) and 2009 country population estimates from the World Bank. a Seroprevalence excluding Egypt. * Estimates from our random-effects meta-analysis.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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