Seroprevalence of hepatitis C and B in southern Africa

Background: More than 130 million people are chronically infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) worldwide. After infection, the virus chronically infects 55-85% of infected individuals; only 15-45% are able to clear out the virus within 6 months. The prevalence of HCV in Southern Africa is not well established. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates a combined HCV seroprevalence of 2.0-2.5% for Southern and East Africa. My objective is to characterize the prevalence of HCV and HBV in Southern African, by performing a literature review. A section on Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) co-infection was included in the review. HCV and HBV have public health importance since they share the same route of transmission as HIV. Results: The prevalence of HCV in Southern Africa varies according to region with a range of 0.8-6.8%, and HBV prevalence is similar in all countries, with prevalence above 8%. Most studies reported higher prevalence of HCV among HIV-infected individual, as compared to non HIV-infected individuals. The transmission of HCV is Southern African countries occur mainly through unsafe therapeutic injections and unscreened blood transfusion. Conclusions: The HCV prevalence in Southern Africa is low. More rigorous population based studies are needed to more accurately assess prevalence of HCV and HBV in Southern Africa