The epidemiology of hepatitis C virus in Egypt: a systematic review and data synthesis
BMC Infectious Diseases·
- DOI
- 10.1186/1471-2334-13-288
- PMID
- 23799878
- PMCID
- PMC3702438
- OpenAlex
- W2130525876
- Study type
- Systematic review
- Publisher
- Springer Science and Business Media LLC
- Article type
- journal-article
- Integrity
- current
Why this research matters now
The authors concluded that Egypt faces an HCV disease burden of historical proportions, with evidence suggesting a massive epidemic at the national level and substantial ongoing transmission. They emphasized that HCV prevention must become a national priority and called for policymakers and stakeholders to introduce and implement further prevention measures targeting transmission routes.
Structured evidence summary
Research question
The study aimed to characterize the epidemiology of hepatitis C virus infection across different population groups in Egypt and to draw inferences about the nature of HCV transmission in the country.
Study design
This was a systematic review and data synthesis following PRISMA guidelines. Data sources included PubMed and Embase databases. A multivariate regression model was used to assess temporal trends in HCV prevalence among general and high-risk populations.
Population and setting
The review examined HCV prevalence and incidence data from diverse population groups in Egypt, including pregnant women, blood donors, general population groups, multi-transfused patients, dialysis patients, and other clinical and intermediate-risk populations.
Main findings
The review identified 150 relevant records, including four incidence studies reporting HCV incidence ranging from 0.8 to 6.8 per 1,000 person-years. Prevalence varied widely: 5-15% among pregnant women, 5-25% among blood donors, 0-40% in other general population groups, 10-55% in multi-transfused patients, and 50-90% in dialysis patients. Time trend analysis found no statistically significant decline in HCV prevalence over time in either general (p=0.215) or high-risk populations (p=0.426). Identified risk factors included parenteral anti-schistosomal therapy, injections, transfusions, and surgical procedures.
Public-health relevance
The authors concluded that Egypt faces an HCV disease burden of historical proportions, with evidence suggesting a massive epidemic at the national level and substantial ongoing transmission. They emphasized that HCV prevention must become a national priority and called for policymakers and stakeholders to introduce and implement further prevention measures targeting transmission routes.
Important limitations
This summary relies on the supplied single-article abstract and bibliographic metadata. Complete assessment of study limitations, including search strategy constraints, heterogeneity in included studies, and methodological quality of primary data sources, requires access to the full published article.
GIDS interpretation
This 2013 systematic review provides a comprehensive synthesis of HCV epidemiology in Egypt, a country with historically high HCV burden. The classifier links indicate the paper was indexed under Hepatitis C and Egypt, supporting its discoverability for epidemiological research on HCV in this geographic context. The work offers baseline epidemiological context but does not represent real-time surveillance data.
Related GIDS surveillance
Literature context does not validate, explain, or change a surveillance signal. Exact and contextual relationships are shown separately.
Evidence relationships
This article has 13 auditable classifier relationships to diseases, places, topics, and study design.