Abstract
ObjectivesSummarize hepatitis C virus (HCV) prevalence in injecting (IDU) and non-injecting drug users (NIDU), men who have sex with men (MSM), sex workers, and prison inmates in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).MethodsSystematic review on HCV prevalence in sub-populations in LAC. Databases searched from 1-1-2000 to 10-30-2013. Inclusion criteria: prevalence studies in sub-populations in LAC. HCV-antibody was marker for prevalence of current/past HCV infection and HCV-RNA for prevalence of HCV current infection.ResultsIDU HCV current/past infection presented highest prevalence, from 1.7 % in Colombia to over 95 % in Ciudad Juarez and Tijuana, Mexico and pooled regional anti-HCV prevalence was 49 % (CI 95 % 22.6–76.3 %). NIDU, MSM and sex workers anti-HCV prevalence was below 10 %, and pooled regional prevalence of 4 % (CI 95 % 2.6–4.5 %), 3 % (CI 95 % 1.7–4.5 %) and 2 % (CI 95 % 1.0–3.4 %), respectively. Prison inmates presented higher values, but prevalence decreased over the 15-year time span (p < 0.001). Current HCV infection from three countries showed prevalence under 10 % in prison inmates and 1–46 % among drug users.ConclusionsDisease burden is high and surveillance, prevention and treatment should target these groups in LAC.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00038-015-0708-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a leading cause of chronic liver disease, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (Perz et al 2006)
No systematic review has been conducted on HCV infection prevalence among specific population groups in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC)
This study aims to summarize available information on prevalence of hepatitis C infection in drug users, injecting and non-injecting, men who have sex with men (MSM), sex workers, male to female transgender populations and prison inmates in LAC
Summary
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a leading cause of chronic liver disease, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (Perz et al 2006). Several studies from Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) have reported a high prevalence among injecting drug users (Weissenbacher et al 2003) and prison inmates (Guimaraes et al 2001) as well as in other vulnerable populations, such as sex workers (Pando et al 2006a, b), and men who have sex with men (MSM) (Pando et al 2012). No systematic review has been conducted on HCV infection prevalence among specific population groups in LAC. To effectively respond to viral hepatitis C through provision of appropriate treatment and care services, it is critical to document a disproportionate impact and burden of disease among different population groups in LAC. This study aims to summarize available information on prevalence of hepatitis C infection in drug users, injecting and non-injecting, MSM, sex workers, male to female transgender populations and prison inmates in LAC
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