Abstract
BackgroundHepatitis E Virus (HEV) infection is a newly recognized serious threat to global public health and Africa is suspected to be among the most severely affected regions in the world. Understanding HEV epidemiology in Africa will expedite the implementation of evidence-based control policies aimed at preventing the spread of HEV including policies for the use of available resources such as HEV vaccines.MethodsHere we present a comprehensive review of HEV epidemiology in Africa based on published data. We searched for articles on HEV epidemiology in Africa from online databases such as PubMed, Scopus, and ISI Web of Science and critically reviewed appropriate publications to extract consistent findings, identify knowledge gaps, and suggest future studies.ResultsTaking a particularly high toll in pregnant women and their fetuses, HEV has infected human populations in 28 of 56 African countries. Since 1979, 17 HEV outbreaks have been reported about once every other year from Africa causing a reported 35,300 cases with 650 deaths.ConclusionsIn Africa, HEV infection is not new, is widespread, and the number of reported outbreaks are likely a significant underestimate. The authors suggest that this is a continent-wide public health problem that deserves the attention of local, regional and international agencies to implement control policies that can save numerous lives, especially those of pregnant women and their fetuses.
Highlights
Hepatitis E Virus (HEV) infection is a newly recognized serious threat to global public health and Africa is suspected to be among the most severely affected regions in the world
Seroprevalence of anti-HEV antibodies Data on seroprevalence of anti-HEV antibodies comes from 35 studies in 13 African countries
Two studies of Ghanaians suggest that predominant HEV genotypes in that country may be of zoonotic origin: seroprevalence among pig handlers is over 34% [75,77] whereas that among general population is about 4% [76]
Summary
Hepatitis E Virus (HEV) infection is a newly recognized serious threat to global public health and Africa is suspected to be among the most severely affected regions in the world. Hepatitis E virus (HEV) causes large outbreaks and sporadic cases of acute hepatitis, and an estimated one-third of the world’s population has been infected with HEV [1]. It is the most or second most common cause of acute viral hepatitis among adults throughout much of Asia, the Middle East, and Africa [2,3,4] the true burden of HEV infection remains unknown [1]. Acknowledging that understanding HEV infection and distribution in Africa can expedite implementation of evidence-based control policies, our overall objective was to characterize the epidemiology of HEV in Africa by reviewing and summarizing relevant, peer-reviewed literature. The authors identified knowledge gaps in the existing literature and suggested future studies
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