SynthesisAddiction (Abingdon, England)2020
The status of hepatitis C virus infection among people who inject drugs in the Middle East and North Africa.
Synthesis in Addiction (Abingdon, England), 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 39 citations in OpenAlex.
- Hepatitis C distribution across diverse population groups in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: An umbrella review.PloS one · 2026Pooled it
- Sexually transmitted infections in the middle east and North Africa: comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC infectious diseases · 2024Pooled it
- The status of hepatitis C virus infection among people who inject drugs in the Middle East and North Africa.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2020Pooled it
- Prevalence of hepatitis C virus infection in Qatar's resident population based on a national screening campaign.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Engagement in hepatitis C virus cascade of care and factors associated with testing among people who inject drugs in Iran.Harm reduction journal · 2025Article
- The association between drug injection duration and hepatitis C prevalence among people who inject drugs in Iran.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Finding the Context of High-Risk Behavioral Factors and the Effectiveness of Addiction Treatment Centers in Preventing the Transmission of Hepatitis C Virus Among Injecting Drug Addicts: "Southeastern Iran".Health science reports · 2025Article
- Hepatitis C virus transmission among people who inject drugs in the Middle East and North Africa: mathematical modeling analyses of incidence and intervention impact.EClinicalMedicine · 2025Article
- Syphilis infection prevalence in the Middle East and North Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis.EClinicalMedicine · 2024Article
- Article
- An Evolving HIV Epidemic in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region: A Scoping Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Hepatitis C virus prevalence, determinants, and cascade of care among people who inject drugs in Iran.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2023Article
- Patterns and trends of hepatitis C virus infection in Jordan: an observational study.Frontiers in public health · 2023Observational
- Seroprevalence and trends of hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus and human immunodeficiency virus in Syrian blood donors at Damascus University Blood Center between 2004 and 2021.Frontiers in public health · 2023Article
- Treatment as prevention for hepatitis C virus in the Middle East and North Africa: a modeling study.Frontiers in public health · 2023Article
- Characterizing trends and associations for hepatitis C virus antibody prevalence in the Middle East and North Africa: meta-regression analyses.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- Observational
- Article
- Hepatitis C Virus Prevalence, Medical Status Awareness and Treatment Engagement among Homeless People Who use Drugs: Results of a Street Outreach Study.Substance abuse : research and treatment · 2022Article
- Understanding and Responding to Substance Use and Abuse in the Palestinian Refugee Camps in Lebanon Prior to and During COVID-19 Times.International journal of mental health and addiction · 2021Article
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND
aimsPeople who inject drugs (PWID) are a key population at high risk of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. The aim of this study was to delineate the epidemiology of HCV in PWID in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
methodsSyntheses of data were conducted on the standardized and systematically assembled databases of the MENA HCV Epidemiology Synthesis Project, 1989-2018. Random-effects meta-analyses and meta-regressions were performed. Meta-regression variables included country, study site, year of data collection and year of publication [to assess trends in HCV antibody prevalence over time], sample size and sampling methodology. Numbers of chronically infected PWID across MENA were estimated. The Shannon Diversity Index was calculated to assess genotype diversity.
resultsBased on 118 HCV antibody prevalence measures, the pooled mean prevalence in PWID for all MENA was 49.3% [95% confidence interval (CI) = 44.4-54.1%]. The country-specific pooled mean ranged from 21.7% (95% CI = 4.9-38.6%) in Tunisia to 94.2% (95% CI = 90.8-96.7%) in Libya. An estimated 221 704 PWID were chronically infected, with the largest numbers found in Iran at 68 526 and in Pakistan at 46 554. There was no statistically significant evidence for a decline in HCV antibody prevalence over time. Genotype diversity was moderate (Shannon Diversity Index of 1.01 out of 1.95; 52.1%). The pooled mean percentage for each HCV genotype was highest in genotype 3 (42.7%) and in genotype 1 (35.9%).
conclusionHalf of people who inject drugs in the Middle East and North Africa appear to have ever been infected with hepatitis C virus, but there are large variations in antibody prevalence among countries. In addition to > 200 000 chronically infected current people who inject drugs, there is an unknown number of people who no longer inject drugs who may have acquired hepatitis C virus during past injecting drug use. Harm reduction services must be expanded, and innovative strategies need to be employed to ensure accessibility to hepatitis C virus testing and treatment.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.