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Meta-Analysis
. 2020 Jun 12;15(6):e0234348.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0234348. eCollection 2020.

Prevalence of viral hepatitis B in Ghana between 2015 and 2019: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Julius Abesig  1 , Yancong Chen  1 , Huan Wang  1 , Faustin Mwekele Sompo  1 , Irene X Y Wu  1
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Prevalence of viral hepatitis B in Ghana between 2015 and 2019: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Julius Abesig et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Chronic hepatitis B (HBV) remains a significant public health problem in Ghana and past reviews conducted could not calculate a nationwide prevalence of the disease due to lack of primary research for some regions of the country. We therefore conducted this study to summarize and update the available information on HBV infection burden (prevalence) in Ghana from 2015-2019.We systematically searched PubMed, Embase, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar to retrieve primary studies published in peer-reviewed journals from November 2015 to September 2019, assessing the prevalence of HBV among the Ghanaian populace. The review included 21 studies across all ten old regions of Ghana with a total sample population of 29 061. The HBV prevalence was estimated for subpopulations as follows: 8.36% in the adult population, 14.30% in the adolescent population, and 0.55% in children under five years (pre-school). Among adults, HBV infection prevalence was the highest in the special occupation group (14.40%) and the lowest prevalence rate of 7.17% was recorded among blood donors. Prevalence was lower in the north than in the southern part of the country. The Ashanti region had the most studies at 6/21 (29%), while no study was identified for the Upper West region. Across the country, the highest HBV infection prevalence rates were recorded in the age group of 20-40 years. The burden of hepatitis B is enormous and remains an important public health issue in Ghana. Addressing the issue will require an integrated public health strategy and rethinking of the implementation gaps in the current HBV infection control program. This will help propel the country towards eliminating the disease by 2030.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Flow chart of study search and retrieval process (adopted PRISMA: 2009).
Fig 2
Fig 2. Forest plot of hepatitis B infection prevalence rate in the adult population in Ghana from 2015 to 2019.
Fig 3
Fig 3. Cumulative forest plot for the included studies (fixed effects model) in the adult-only population.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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