Hepatitis C Virus Epidemiology in Yemen: Systematic Review

Results: Forty-nine (49) studies were matching the inclusion and exclusion criteria from the four databases. After analyzing these 49 studies we found that in the general group of the population the prevalence was ranged between 0.07%-8.5%. Where the highest prevalence was in pregnant women (up to 8.5%) then the public (up to 6%) then blood donors and children up to 3% and 2.8% respectively. In the intermediate-risk group, hepatitis C virus infection prevalence was ranged between 1.03%-3.5% where all population was from the health department workers. In the high-risk group, the range was between 6.4%-62.7%, and the highest prevalence was recorded in liver disease patients. In the patient’s group the range of hepatitis C virus infection prevalence was between 0%-46%, while the sickle cell anemia patients were the lowest prevalence the chronic renal failure patients had the highest prevalence. Conclusion: This systemic review demonstrates a high prevalence of hepatitis C infection in Yemen. There is also a need to expand the scope of research and pay attention to new research groups and other cities to get a more comprehensive idea of the prevalence of the hepatitis C virus in Yemen.