Abstract
BackgroundPeople living with HIV (PLHIV) and people in prison are population groups with a potentially high risk and/or prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection.AimWe conducted a systematic review in order to find prevalence and incidence estimates in these populations in the European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA).MethodsOriginal research articles published between January 2005 and February 2017 were retrieved from PubMed and Embase in February 2017.ResultsFifty-two articles were included, providing 97 estimates of HBV/HCV infection prevalence or incidence. Estimates of HBV infection prevalence ranged between 2.9% and43.4% in PLHIV and 0.0% and 25.2% in people in prison. Estimates of HCV infection prevalence ranged from 2.9% to 43.4% in PLHIV and 0.0% to 25.2% in people in prison. Incidence estimates ranged between 0.0 and 2.5 cases per 100 person-years for HBV infection in PLHIV. No such data was available for people in prison. HCV infection incidence ranged between 0.3 and 0.9 cases per 100 person-years in PLHIV and between 1 and 1.2 cases per 100 person-years in people in prison. Prevalence estimates were generally higher than in the general population, especially for HCV infection and among groups with multiple risk factors.ConclusionsPLHIV, people in prison and groups with multiple risk factors, have a high prevalence of HBV and HCV and may be at ongoing risk of infection. These groups should be among the populations prioritised and targeted for active case finding and prevention programmes in the EU/EEA.
Highlights
Worldwide, an estimated 248 million [1] and 71.1 million [2] people are chronically infected with the hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV), respectively
Evidence on HBV/HCV infection prevalence and incidence in People living with HIV (PLHIV) and people in prison in European Economic Area (EU/EEA) countries was compiled and compared with estimates from the general population in order to assess the extent of risk and prevalence that these groups have of HBV and HCV infection
There are no recent estimates of prevalence in the general population for Bulgaria, given the high prevalence of 3.2% HBsAg among first time blood donors noted by Hofstraat et al, the prevalence in the general population is likely to be higher than the 0.9% prevalence of the EU/EEA as a whole [3]
Summary
An estimated 248 million [1] and 71.1 million [2] people are chronically infected with the hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV), respectively. People living with HIV (PLHIV) and people in prison are key population groups potentially at high risk for being infected with HBV and HCV [13]. People living with HIV (PLHIV) and people in prison are population groups with a potentially high risk and/or prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Conclusions: PLHIV, people in prison and groups with multiple risk factors, have a high prevalence of HBV and HCV and may be at ongoing risk of infection. These groups should be among the populations prioritised and targeted for active case finding and prevention programmes in the EU/EEA
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