Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Apr 11;5(4):180257.
doi: 10.1098/rsos.180257. eCollection 2018 Apr.

The epidemiology of hepatitis C virus in Pakistan: systematic review and meta-analyses

Zaina Al Kanaani  1 , Sarwat Mahmud  1 , Silva P Kouyoumjian  1 , Laith J Abu-Raddad  1   2
Affiliations

The epidemiology of hepatitis C virus in Pakistan: systematic review and meta-analyses

Zaina Al Kanaani et al. R Soc Open Sci. .

Abstract

To characterize hepatitis C virus (HCV) epidemiology in Pakistan and estimate the pooled mean HCV antibody prevalence in different risk populations, we systematically reviewed all available records of HCV incidence and/or prevalence from 1989 to 2016, as informed by the Cochrane Collaboration Handbook. This systematic review was reported following the PRISMA guidelines. Populations were classified into six categories based on the risk of exposure to HCV infection. Meta-analyses were performed using DerSimonian and Laird random-effects models with inverse variance weighting. The search identified one HCV incidence study and 341 prevalence measures/strata. Meta-analyses estimated the pooled mean HCV prevalence at 6.2% among the general population, 34.5% among high-risk clinical populations, 12.8% among populations at intermediate risk, 16.9% among special clinical populations, 55.9% among populations with liver-related conditions and 53.6% among people who inject drugs. Most reported risk factors in analytical epidemiologic studies related to healthcare procedures. Pakistan is enduring an HCV epidemic of historical proportions-one in every 20 Pakistanis is infected. HCV plays a major role in liver disease burden in this country, and HCV prevalence is high in all-risk populations. Most transmission appears to be driven by healthcare procedures. HCV treatment and prevention must become a national priority.

Keywords: Hepatitis C virus; Middle East and North Africa; epidemiology; incidence; prevalence.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no competing interests to declare.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Flow chart of article selection for the systematic review of hepatitis C virus (HCV) incidence and prevalence in Pakistan, adapted from the PRISMA 2009 guideline [26].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Stanaway JD, et al. 2016. The global burden of viral hepatitis from 1990 to 2013: findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013. Lancet 388, 1081–1088. (doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(16)30579-7) - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Chen SL, Morgan TR. 2006. The natural history of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Int. J. Med. Sci. 3, 47 (doi:10.7150/ijms.3.47) - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Rosen HR, Martin P. 2000. Viral hepatitis in the liver transplant recipient. Infect. Dis. Clin. 14, 761–784. - PubMed
    1. Lauer GM, Walker BD. 2001. Hepatitis C virus infection. N. Engl. J. Med. 345, 41–52. (doi:10.1056/NEJM200107053450107) - DOI - PubMed
    1. Bouvard V, et al. 2009. A review of human carcinogens—part B: biological agents. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Elsevier.

LinkOut - more resources