Abstract
The main objective of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS), hepatitis C virus (HCV) and hepatitis B virus (HBV) and their co-infections among people who inject drugs (PWID) and female sex workers (FSWs). Data sources were searched from January 2008 to October 2018 in different databases. Data were analyzed in Stata 16 software using the Metaprop command. The results showed that the prevalence of HIV, HCV and HBV among PWID was 15%, 60% and 6%, respectively. The prevalence of HIV, HCV and HBV among FSWs was 5%, 1% and 3%, respectively. The prevalence of HIV/HCV, HIV/HBV, HCV/HBV and HIV/HCV/HBV co-infections among PWID was 13%, 2%, 3% and 2%, respectively. The prevalence of HIV/HCV and HIV/HBV co-infections among FSWs was 3% and 1%, respectively. The results show that the prevalence of HCV and HIV infections in PWID and the prevalence of HIV in FSWs is higher than their prevalence in the general population. Interventions for the prevention of HIV and HCV in PWID appear to be poor, and may not be sufficient to effectively prevent HIV and HCV transmission.
Highlights
According to a World Health Organization (WHO) report in 2018, there are approximately38 million people living with HIV/AIDS in the world, the largest number being in Africa, with 25.7 million [1]
The prevalence of viral hepatitis is not high in female sex workers (FSWs), but WHO reports that the prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) in FSWs ranges from less than 0.3% in Brazil to over 3.6% in Peru, and hepatitis C prevalence ranges from less than 1.9% in Brazil to 6.2%
Previous systematic review studies have investigated the prevalence of HIV, hepatitis C virus (HCV) and HBV in people who inject drugs (PWID) worldwide, but we have investigated the prevalence of these infections and their co-infections in the high-risk groups PWID and FSWs as distinguished by geographical areas
Summary
According to a World Health Organization (WHO) report in 2018, there are approximately38 million people living with HIV/AIDS in the world, the largest number being in Africa, with 25.7 million [1]. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) and hepatitis B virus (HBV) have affected 71 million and 257 million people worldwide, which can lead to cirrhosis and liver cancer, respectively. Removing these viruses, which requires significant economic and sanitary capital, will prevent more than 1.2 million deaths worldwide annually [3,4]. HBV is most prevalent in the Western Pacific and African regions, with values of 6.2% and 6.1%, respectively. Viral hepatitis elimination program has been adapted by WHO in 2016 [6]. In line with this global program, several countries are working towards this elimination platform [7]. The efficient implementation of prevention and control measures incorporated in this program, requires detailed insight on the epidemiology of hepatitis viruses and other viral infectious agents circulating in these cohorts [9]
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