PLoS ONE
Volume 10, Issue 11, 2015

The seroprevalence of hepatitis C antibodies in immigrants and refugees from intermediate and high endemic countries: A systematic review and meta-analysis (Article) (Open Access)

Greenaway C. , Ma A.T. , Kloda L.A. , Klein M. , Cnossen S. , Schwarzer G. , Shrier I.
  • a Division of Infectious Diseases, Jewish General Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, Canada, Centre for Clinical Epidemiology, Lady Davis Research Institute for Medical Research, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, Canada, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
  • b Department of Internal Medicine, Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal, Montreal, Canada
  • c Library, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
  • d Division of Infectious Diseases, McGill University Health Center, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
  • e Centre for Clinical Epidemiology, Lady Davis Research Institute for Medical Research, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, Canada
  • f Institute of Medical Biometry and Statistics, Medical Centre - University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
  • g Centre for Clinical Epidemiology, Lady Davis Research Institute for Medical Research, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, Canada, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, McGill University, Montreal, Canada

Abstract

Background & Aims: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a significant global health issue that leads to 350,000 preventable deaths annually due to associated cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Immigrants and refugees (migrants) originating from intermediate/high HCV endemic countries are likely at increased risk for HCV infection due to HCV exposure in their countries of origin. The aim of this study was to estimate the HCV seroprevalence of the migrant population living in low HCV prevalence countries. Methods: Four electronic databases were searched from database inception until June 17,2014 for studies reporting the prevalence of HCV antibodies among migrants. Seroprevalence estimates were pooled with a random-effect model and were stratified by age group, region of origin and migration status and a meta-regression was modeled to explore heterogeneity. Results: Data from 50 studies representing 38,635 migrants from all world regions were included. The overall anti-HCV prevalence (representing previous and current infections) was 1.9% (95% CI, 1.4-2.7%, I2 96.1). Older age and region of origin, particularly Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe were the strongest predictors of HCV seroprevalence. The estimated HCV seroprevalence of migrants from these regions was >2% and is higher than that reported for most host populations. Conclusion: Adult migrants originating from Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa and Eastern Europe are at increased risk for HCV and may benefit from targeted HCV screening. © 2015 Greenaway et al.This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Author Keywords

[No Keywords available]

Index Keywords

immigrant Africa south of the Sahara refugee virus cell interaction human Refugees Asia controlled study Eastern Europe groups by age meta analysis Young Adult Humans migrant antibody detection Adolescent male Emigrants and Immigrants female prediction geographic origin population research Article blood major clinical study adult meta analysis (topic) endemic disease Endemic Diseases hepatitis C antibody Hepatitis C Antibodies seroprevalence Seroepidemiologic Studies systematic review hepatitis C
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84955514796&doi=10.1371%2fjournal.pone.0141715&partnerID=40&md5=a9e1a3ea82ac0c5d545eb3944d903ae2
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0141715
ISSN: 19326203
Cited by: 40
Original Language: English