Hepatitis C in Pakistan: A Review of Available Data

authors:

avatar Muhammad Umar 1 , * , avatar Hamama tul Bushra 2 , avatar Masood Ahmad 2 , avatar Muhammad Khurram 2 , avatar Saima Usman 2 , avatar Mohammad Arif 2 , avatar Tashfeen Adam 2 , avatar Zahid Minhas 2 , avatar Adnan Arif 2 , avatar Abdul Naeem 2 , avatar Khushnud Ejaz 2 , avatar Zameer Butt 2 , avatar Muhammad Bilal 2

Rawalpindi Medical College, drumarpk@yahoo.com, Pakistan
Department of Medicine, Rawalpindi Medical College, Holy Family Hospital, Pakistan
Hepatitis Monthly: Vol.10, issue 3; 205-214
article type: Review Article
received: July 16, 2009
accepted: March 3, 2010

how to cite: Umar M, Bushra H, Ahmad M, Khurram M, Usman S, et al. Hepatitis C in Pakistan: A Review of Available Data. Hepat Mon. 2010;10(3): 205-214. 

Abstract

Abstract

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is increasingly recognized as a major health care problem, and is found frequently in Pakistani settings. In this article we reviewed published and unpublished data related to the seroepidemiology of HCV infection in Pakistan. For this article, data from 132 published studies and three unpublished data sets published/ presented between the period 1992-2008 were utilized. Data of 1,183,329 individuals were gathered. Blood donors (982,481) and the general population (178,322) constituted the majority of these subjects. The frequency of HCV infection in blood donors and in the general population was 3.0 % (95% CI: 3.0- 3.1) and 4.7 (95% CI: 4.6 -4.8), respectively. The frequency among 6,148 pregnant females was 7.3% (95% CI = 6.7 – 8.0). The frequency in healthy children ranged from 0.4 to 4.1% (95% CI = 1.4 – 2.3). Pakistani HCV serofrequency figures are significantly higher (P < 0.0001) compared to those of the corresponding populations in surrounding countries like India, Nepal, Myanmar, Iran and Afghanistan.

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