Hepatitis A in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: A Review on the Prevalence (original) (raw)

Estimation of Hepatitis A Virus Infection Prevalence Among Eastern Mediterranean and Middle Eastern Countries: A Systematic Review and Pooled Analysis

2017

Context: Hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection is the most common type of acute viral hepatitis that has been proposed as an important public health issue. Most of the countries in WHO Eastern Mediterranean region (EMR) and Middle East (ME) have a high endemicity of HAV infection. To provide a comprehensive estimation of the epidemiology of HAV in this region, we carried out a systematic review on the literature reporting the prevalence of HAV infection in the EMR and ME. Evidence Acquisition: We conducted a systematic search in the databases including PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct, and Web of science using appropriate search strategies. Observational studies published between January 1990 and July 2016 with clearly stated data regarding HAV Ab (IgG) in non-high-risk groups from countries of EMR and ME were examined. We estimated the prevalence of HAV infection and 95% confidence interval based on the pooled data from all included studies for each country, and the regions were weighted...

Viral hepatitis A to E in South Mediterranean Countries

Mediterranean Journal of Hematology and Infectious Diseases, 2010

Viral hepatitis represents an important health problem in the South Mediterranean countries, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco. Emerging natural history and epidemiological information reveal differences in the overall epidemiology, risk factors and modes of transmission of viral hepatitis A, B, C, D, E infections in the South Mediterranean region. The differences in the in incidence and prevalence of viral hepatit African countries is attributed to variations in health care and sanitation standards, risk factors and immunization strategies. The active continuous population movement through travel, tourism and migration from and to the South Mediterra the spread of infections due to hepatitis viruses across borders leading to outbreaks and emergence of new patterns of infection or introduction of uncommon genotypes in other countries, particularly in Europe. Introduction: In There are some similarities but also there substantial di€erences between South Mediterranean countries. The epidemiology of viral hepatitis in south Mediterranean countries is dynamic and affected by many factors including hygiene, socioeconomic status and vaccination coverage. For example, hepatitis B (HBV) hepatitis C (HCV) viruses 3 have a high tendency to persist and establish chronic hepatitis with long term sequels. HBV-and HCV-related chronic hepatitis is considered the main cause of cirrh hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and liver transplantation in the region 2,3. While HCV related liver disease represents a huge health and economic ; Open Journal System

Hepatitis A and E Virus Outbreaks in the Mediterranean Region 2006-2017: A Systematic Review

Acta Scientific Microbiology

person-to-person contact via the faecal-oral route, the sanitation Objectives: A systematic review was conducted to improve understanding of the epidemiology of hepatitis A and E viruses (HAV,HEV), to investigate HAV and HEV viral outbreaks and to describe the distribution and magnitude of all cases in the Mediterranean region countries during the period 2006-2017. Study Design: Not all study design types were included. Single case reports were not included unless the case was reported as the primary infection of the outbreak. This systematic review combined both experimental and non-experimental studies from 2006 onwards. Experts' opinions and qualitative studies were excluded. Methods: Four databases (Scopus, PubMed, ISI Web of Science Core Correlation and SpringerLink electronic journal) were searched from 2006 to July 2017. Totally, 31 hepatitis A and Ε viral outbreaks in the Mediterranean region were identified. Most of the reported outbreaks were in European region, followed by South Mediterranean countries.

Epidemiology of viral hepatitis in the Mediterranean basin

Roczniki Akademii Medycznej w Białymstoku (1995), 2003

The prevalence of viral hepatitis is high and remains a serious public health challenge throughout the world. New molecular biology techniques provided a better understanding of the viruses over the last decades. Novel therapeutic options seem to be promising but preventing measures including donor screening, immunization against hepatitis A virus (HAV) and hepatitis B virus (HBV), universal use of disposable syringes and implementation of better hygienic conditions play a major role in the control of viral hepatitis. The Mediterranean basin has special demographic and socioeconomic features. We reviewed in this article the seroepidemiological features of viral hepatitis in this particular region. Improving general conditions led to a tendency to be infected in older ages with HAV. Hepatitis B and C virus still remain to be the major causes of chronic hepatitis. The seroprevalence of hepatitis D virus, which was once endemic in the Mediterranean region seem to decrease nowadays wher...

Hepatitis a in Lebanon: a changing epidemiological pattern

The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene, 2005

In this multicenter study in Lebanon, hepatitis A virus (HAV) seroprevalence rates were surveyed by age, gender, and socioeconomic factors. Blood samples collected from 606 subjects aged 1 to 30 years were analyzed for anti-HAV IgG. Age was the most important factor influencing HAV seroprevalence. HAV seroprevalence rates in the current study were about 78% in the > or = 21 years age group, 28% in the 6-10 years age group, and 11% in the 1-5 years age group as compared with 97.7% in adults, 85% in children aged 6-12 years, and 40% in children aged 1 to 5 years in previous studies, demonstrating a shift in HAV seroprevalence from the younger to the higher age groups. In light of the severity of the disease in adults and availability of safe and effective vaccines against HAV infection, introduction of HAV vaccination into the national immunization schedule of Lebanon should be considered.

The epidemiology of hepatitis A infection in Palestine: a universal vaccination programme is not yet needed

Epidemiology and …, 2001

Epidemiol Infect. 2001 Oct;127(2):335-9. The epidemiology of hepatitis A infection in Palestine: a universal vaccination programme is not yet needed. Yassin K, Awad R, Tebi A, Queder A, Laaser U. Section of International Public Health, School of Public Health, University of Bielefeld, Germany. Abstract In Palestine, there has been an increase in the reported incidence of acute hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection since 1995. Since overt clinical disease occurs only among adults, questions were raised whether or not a shift in the epidemiology of HAV has occurred. This is generally characterized by a decrease in the overall incidence rate and a shifting in the mean age of infection towards adolescence and early adulthood. The need for a vaccination programme is being discussed. To resolve this issue, we examined the prevalence of anti-HAV in a representative sample of 396 school children in the Gaza Strip. The prevalence of anti-HAV was 93.7% (95% CI: 91.3, 96.1%). Stratifying the prevalence by age showed that 87.8% (95% CI: 78.6, 97%) were HAV antibody positive by the age of 6. By the age of 14, almost 98% (95% CI: 92.7, 100%) were HAV antibody positive. This means that the majority of HAV infection is still taking place in early childhood, when it is usually asymptomatic and of little clinical significance. The results refuted the shifting epidemiology theory and we recommend that a vaccination programme against HAV infection is not yet needed. Alternative explanations for the increase in reported cases are discussed.

Changing Pattern of Hepatitis A Virus Epidemiology in an Area of High Endemicity

Hepatitis Monthly, 2012

Continuous monitoring on HAV seroepidemiology represent a major tool to assess the risk of HAV infection and to identify appropriate preventive measures in different societies. Being familiar with HAV epidemiology, can help health policy makers to choose the more effective and tailored measures to control the risk of infection. Background: Continuous assessment of hepatitis A virus (HAV) seroepidemiology is a useful tool to control the risk of infection. Objectives:This study aimed to evaluate the changing patterns of anti-HAV seroprevalence in a population,which isgenerally considered to be anarea of high endemicity. Patients and Methods: Overall, the results of 3349 sera collected during the period 2005-2008 from patients attending the University Hospital of Cagliari, Italy were studied; their mean age was 52.7 years, (s + 16.22). Patients with liver disease were excluded from the study. Age specific seroprevalence results were compared with those observed in similar previous studies carried out in the same area. Results: The overall prevalence of anti-HAV was 74.6% with consistently lower values in subjects younger than 40 years (17.5%; P < 0.0001) particularly in those under 30 years of age (8.9%, CI 5.8-11.9). A significant declining trend in age specific seroprevalence has been foundin people under 30 years;

Epidemiological Aspects of Hepatitis A: Endemicity Patterns and Molecular Epidemiology

Hepatitis A and Other Associated Hepatobiliary Diseases [Working Title]

Improvements in hygiene and socioeconomic conditions in many parts of the world have led to an epidemiological shift in hepatitis A with a transition from high to low endemicity. Consequently, in these areas, higher proportion of symptomatic disease among adolescents resulting in large-scale community outbreaks has been described. In Tunisia, an increase in the average age at the time of infection has been reported, hence resulting in regular outbreaks, especially household and primary school epidemics. Molecular investigation of such outbreaks, based on the determination of viral genotype and genetic relatedness between hepatitis A virus (HAV) strains, is a useful tool to identify the potential source of HAV contamination but also to assess the virus molecular dynamics over time, such as the introduction of a new genotype or a specific clustering of HAV strains according to the geographical origin. In Sfax city, (Center-East of Tunisia), only HAV strains of genotype IA are circulating. In rural areas, HAV infection is still highly endemic with probably a water-borne transmission pattern. Nevertheless, the considerable genetic heterogeneity observed in urban areas highlights the changing pattern of hepatitis A epidemiology in these settings. Further molecular studies are strongly needed to better understand HAV epidemiology in Tunisia.

A 1-year study of the epidemiology of hepatitis A virus in Tunisia

Clinical Microbiology and Infection, 2007

This 1-year (September 2000 to August 2001) prospective study investigated the presence of hepatitis A virus (HAV) in the population of Monastir, Tunisia (86 serum samples), in the influents and effluents of two wastewater treatment plants, and in shellfish harvested in the coastal areas of Monastir, Bizerte and Sfax (January 2001 to May 2001). The virus was detected by RT-PCR using primers targeted at the VP3-VP1 region. An epidemic of HAV infection was observed during the winter months, with a peak in January. The presence of the virus was relatively constant in the influents and effluents of the wastewater treatment plants, and the virus was found in shellfish from the Monastir area during the months of January and February. The genotype IA strain was recovered most frequently from human serum and wastewater samples. The observation that the peak of the epidemic was during the winter months suggests that transmission of HAV is related to climatic factors and, presumably, to shellfish consumption.