Hepatitis A in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: a Comprehensive Review

Overview

Journal Hum Vaccin Immunother

Specialty Allergy & Immunology

Date 2022 May 26

PMID 35617508

Authors

Selim Badur

Serdar Ozturk

Mohammad AbdelGhany

Mansour Khalaf

Youness Lagoubi

Onur Ozudogru

Kashif Hanif

Debasish Saha

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Introduction: With 583 million inhabitants, the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) is a worldwide hub for travel, migration, and food trade. However, there is a scarcity of data on the epidemiology of the hepatitis A virus (HAV).

Methods: The MEDLINE and grey literature were systematically searched for HAV epidemiological data relevant to the EMR region published between 1980 and 2020 in English, French, or Arabic.

Results: Overall, 123 publications were extracted. The proportion of HAV cases among acute viral hepatitis cases was high. HAV seroprevalence rate ranged from 5.7% to 100.0% and it was decreasing over time while the average age at infection increased.

Conclusion: In the EMR, HAV remains a significant cause of acute viral hepatitis. The observed endemicity shift will likely increase disease burden as the population ages. Vaccinating children and adopting sanitary measures are still essential to disease prevention; vaccinating at-risk groups might reduce disease burden even further.

Citing Articles

Lekfif A, Atassi M, Salah A, Rahhaoui S, Sabbar S, Aissaoui H Tunis Med. 2024; 102(11):850-857.

PMID: 39564626 PMC: 11668152. DOI: 10.62438/tunismed.v102i11.5165.

Use of passive samplers as sewage surveillance tool to monitor a hepatitis A outbreak at a school in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Oct 2022 - March 2023.

de Jong M, Schim van der Loeff M, Schilperoort R, Vennema H, van der Weijden C, Langeveld J BMC Infect Dis. 2024; 24(1):1044.

PMID: 39333937 PMC: 11430438. DOI: 10.1186/s12879-024-09938-1.

Prevalence of hepatitis A virus among migrant workers in Qatar: A national study.

Younes N, Chemaitelly H, Nizamuddin P, Al-Hamad T, Abdallah M, Yassine H PLoS One. 2024; 19(7):e0306753.

PMID: 38980873 PMC: 11232980. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0306753.

References

Mohamud K, Aceti A, Mohamed O, Pennica A, Maalin K, Biondi R . [The circulation of the hepatitis A and B viruses in the Somali population]. Ann Ital Med Int. 1992; 7(2):78-83. View

Ataei B, Javadi A, Nokhodian Z, Kassaeian N, Shoaei P, Farajzadegan Z . HAV in Isfahan province: a population-based study. Trop Gastroenterol. 2009; 29(3):160-2. View

Alwan A, Elmi M . Food safety in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: time to act. East Mediterr Health J. 2015; 21(3):153-4. DOI: 10.26719/2015.21.3.153. View

Talaat M, El-Sayed N, Kandeel A, Azab M, Afifi S, Youssef F . Sentinel surveillance for patients with acute hepatitis in Egypt, 2001-04. East Mediterr Health J. 2010; 16(2):134-40. View

Tariq W, Hussain A, Hussain T, Anwar M, Ghani E, Asad-ullah . Hepatitis A virus infection -- shifting epidemiology. J Coll Physicians Surg Pak. 2006; 16(1):15-8. DOI: 1.2006/JCPSP.1518. View

Gossner C, Severi E, Danielsson N, Hutin Y, Coulombier D . Changing hepatitis A epidemiology in the European Union: new challenges and opportunities. Euro Surveill. 2015; 20(16). DOI: 10.2807/1560-7917.es2015.20.16.21101. View

Rassam S, Goudeau A, Dubois F, Al-Khoury B, Al-Deen J, Sadik A . Acute viral hepatitis: an aetiological study of 253 patients. J Gastroenterol Hepatol. 1989; 4(2):151-4. DOI: 10.1111/j.1440-1746.1989.tb00819.x. View

Divizia M, Gabrieli R, Stefanoni M, Renganathan E, El ghazzawi E, Kader O . HAV and HEV infection in hospitalised hepatitis patients in Alexandria, Egypt. Eur J Epidemiol. 1999; 15(7):603-9. DOI: 10.1023/a:1007514030062. View

Ashraf S, Arya S, Parande C, Kristensen E . Hepatitis A virus among natives and expatriates in Saudia Arabia. J Med Virol. 1986; 19(2):151-3. DOI: 10.1002/jmv.1890190207. View

10.

Karimi A, Mortazaei S, Moradi M . High Prevalence of Symptomatic Hepatitis A Infection in Rural Area of Chaharmahal VA Bakhtiari Province, Iran. J Clin Diagn Res. 2015; 9(2):DC01-3. PMC: 4378733. DOI: 10.7860/JCDR/2015/9798.5515. View

11.

Rabiee A, Nikayin S, Hashemi S, Mohaghegh M, Amini M, Rabiee R . Seroprevalence of Hepatitis A among Students Enrolled in Tehran University of Medical Sciences during 2011. Middle East J Dig Dis. 2014; 5(3):137-40. PMC: 3990182. View

12.

Mohebbi S, Rostami Nejad M, Tahaei S, Pourhoseingholi M, Habibi M, Azimzadeh P . Seroepidemiology of hepatitis A and E virus infections in Tehran, Iran: a population based study. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 2012; 106(9):528-31. DOI: 10.1016/j.trstmh.2012.05.013. View

13.

Mirzaei J, Ziaee M, Farsad S, Fereydooni M, Sarab G, Rezvani Khorashad M . Vaccination Against Hepatitis A for Hemophilic Patients: Is It Necessary?. Hepat Mon. 2016; 16(4):e37447. PMC: 4888500. DOI: 10.5812/hepatmon.37447. View

14.

Itani T, Jacobsen K, Nguyen T, Wiktor S . A new method for imputing country-level estimates of hepatitis A virus endemicity levels in the Eastern Mediterranean region. Vaccine. 2014; 32(46):6067-74. DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2014.09.006. View

15.

Gebreel A, Christie A . Viral hepatitis in children: a study in Libya. Ann Trop Paediatr. 1983; 3(1):9-11. DOI: 10.1080/02724936.1983.11748260. View

16.

Hyams K, McCarthy M, Kaur M, Purdy M, Bradley D, Mansour M . Acute sporadic hepatitis E in children living in Cairo, Egypt. J Med Virol. 1992; 37(4):274-7. DOI: 10.1002/jmv.1890370407. View

17.

Al Faleh F, Ali S, Aljebreen A, Alhammad E, Abdo A . Seroprevalence rates of Helicobacter pylori and viral hepatitis A among adolescents in three regions of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: is there any correlation?. Helicobacter. 2010; 15(6):532-7. DOI: 10.1111/j.1523-5378.2010.00800.x. View

18.

Ahmadi Vasmehjani A, Javeshghani D, Baharlou R, Shayestehpour M, Mousavinasab S, Joharinia N . Hepatitis A infection in patients with chronic viral liver disease: a cross-sectional study in Jahrom, Iran. Epidemiol Infect. 2014; 143(3):534-9. PMC: 9507048. DOI: 10.1017/S0950268814000806. View

19.

Ramezani H, Bozorgi S, Nooranipour M, Mostajeri A, Kargar-Fard H, Molaverdikhani S . Prevalence and risk factors of hepatitis A among blood donors in Qazvin, central Iran. Singapore Med J. 2011; 52(2):107-12. View

20.

Farajzadegan Z, Ghaffari Hoseini S, Kelishadi R, Jamshidi F, Nokhodian Z, Noori R . Systematic review and meta-analysis on the age-specific seroprevalence of hepatitis A in Iran. J Res Med Sci. 2014; 19(Suppl 1):S56-63. PMC: 4078371. View