Hepatitis b and c prevalence and incidence in key population groups with multiple risk factors in the EU/ EEA: A systematic review

Abstract

Background: People living with HIV (PLHIV) and people in prison are population groups with a potentially high risk and/or prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Aim: We conducted a systematic review in order to find prevalence and incidence estimates in these populations in the European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA). Methods: Original research articles published between January 2005 and February 2017 were retrieved from PubMed and Embase in February 2017. Results: Fifty-two articles were included, providing 97 estimates of HBV/ HCV infection prevalence or incidence. Estimates of HBV infection prevalence ranged between 2.9% and43.4% in PLHIV and 0.0% and 25.2% in people in prison. Estimates of HCV infection prevalence ranged from 2.9% to 43.4% in PLHIV and 0.0% to 25.2% in people in prison. Incidence estimates ranged between 0.0 and 2.5 cases per 100 person-years for HBV infection in PLHIV. No such data was available for people in prison. HCV infection incidence ranged between 0.3 and 0.9 cases per 100 person-years in PLHIV and between 1 and 1.2 cases per 100 person-years in people in prison. Prevalence estimates were generally higher than in the general population, especially for HCV infection and among groups with multiple risk factors. Conclusions: PLHIV, people in prison and groups with multiple risk factors, have a high prevalence of HBV and HCV and may be at ongoing risk of infection. These groups should be among the populations priori-tised and targeted for active case finding and prevention programmes in the EU/EEA.