Seroprevalence and Genotype Diversity of Hepatitis C Virus in the Caribbean—A Review
Hepatitis C (HCV) continues to present a global public health challenge, with no vaccine available for prevention. Despite the availability of direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) to cure HCV, it remains prevalent in many regions including the Caribbean. As efforts are made to eliminate HCV from the regi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-07-01
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| Series: | Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2414-6366/8/7/370 |
| _version_ | 1797587298179612672 |
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| author | Michelle G. Brown John F. Lindo Ivan E. Vickers Kereann Nelson Yakima Phillips Cameil Wilson-Clarke Samuel Gavi Gene D. Morse Andrew H. Talal |
| author_facet | Michelle G. Brown John F. Lindo Ivan E. Vickers Kereann Nelson Yakima Phillips Cameil Wilson-Clarke Samuel Gavi Gene D. Morse Andrew H. Talal |
| author_sort | Michelle G. Brown |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Hepatitis C (HCV) continues to present a global public health challenge, with no vaccine available for prevention. Despite the availability of direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) to cure HCV, it remains prevalent in many regions including the Caribbean. As efforts are made to eliminate HCV from the region, existing barriers, such as the high cost of DAAs and lack of an established database of HCV cases within the Caribbean, must be addressed. This review seeks to assess epidemiologic trends (seroprevalence and genotypic diversity) of HCV in the Caribbean and identify gaps in surveillance of the disease. The literature for the period 1 January 2005 to October 2022 was reviewed to gather country-specific data on HCV across the Caribbean. References were identified through indexed journals accessed through established databases using the following keywords: Caribbean, genotype distribution, and general epidemiologic characteristics. The usage pattern of HCV drugs was determined from information obtained from pharmacists across the Caribbean including Jamaica. The prevalence of HCV in the Caribbean was 1.5%; the region should therefore be considered an area of moderate HCV prevalence. The prevalence of HCV among intravenous drug users (21.9–58.8%), persons living with HIV/AIDS (0.8 to 58.5%), prisoners (32.8–64%), and men who have sex with men (MSM) (0.8–6.9%) was generally higher than in the general population (0.8–2.3%). Genotype 1 (83%) was most prevalent followed by genotypes 2 (7.2%) and 3 (2.1%), respectively. Less than 50% of countries in the Caribbean have reliable or well-curated surveillance data on HCV. Drugs currently being used for treatment of HCV infections across the Caribbean include Epclusa (sofosbuvir/velpatasvir) and Harvoni (ledipasvir/sofosbuvir). Some of these drugs are only available in the private sector and are sourced externally whenever needed. While trends point to a potentially higher prevalence of HCV, it will require well-designed random surveys to obtain better estimates of the infection seroprevalence, supported by strong public health laboratory systems. DAAs that are pan-genotypic should translate into treatments that are affordable, accessible, and available to improve cure rates and reduce the HCV burden in the population. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T00:35:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5c740c8af7244b4fa4262f4914637822 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2414-6366 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T00:35:09Z |
| publishDate | 2023-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease |
| spelling | doaj.art-5c740c8af7244b4fa4262f49146378222023-11-18T21:39:17ZengMDPI AGTropical Medicine and Infectious Disease2414-63662023-07-018737010.3390/tropicalmed8070370Seroprevalence and Genotype Diversity of Hepatitis C Virus in the Caribbean—A ReviewMichelle G. Brown0John F. Lindo1Ivan E. Vickers2Kereann Nelson3Yakima Phillips4Cameil Wilson-Clarke5Samuel Gavi6Gene D. Morse7Andrew H. Talal8Department of Microbiology, The University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston 7, JamaicaDepartment of Microbiology, The University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston 7, JamaicaDepartment of Microbiology, The University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston 7, JamaicaDepartment of Microbiology, The University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston 7, JamaicaDepartment of Microbiology, The University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston 7, JamaicaDepartment of Basic Medical Sciences, The University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston 7, JamaicaTranslational Pharmacology Research Core, Center for Integrated Global Biomedical Sciences, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University at Buffalo, 701 Ellicott Street, Buffalo, NY 14203, USATranslational Pharmacology Research Core, Center for Integrated Global Biomedical Sciences, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University at Buffalo, 701 Ellicott Street, Buffalo, NY 14203, USADivision of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, 875 Ellicott Street, Suite 6089, Buffalo, NY 14203, USAHepatitis C (HCV) continues to present a global public health challenge, with no vaccine available for prevention. Despite the availability of direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) to cure HCV, it remains prevalent in many regions including the Caribbean. As efforts are made to eliminate HCV from the region, existing barriers, such as the high cost of DAAs and lack of an established database of HCV cases within the Caribbean, must be addressed. This review seeks to assess epidemiologic trends (seroprevalence and genotypic diversity) of HCV in the Caribbean and identify gaps in surveillance of the disease. The literature for the period 1 January 2005 to October 2022 was reviewed to gather country-specific data on HCV across the Caribbean. References were identified through indexed journals accessed through established databases using the following keywords: Caribbean, genotype distribution, and general epidemiologic characteristics. The usage pattern of HCV drugs was determined from information obtained from pharmacists across the Caribbean including Jamaica. The prevalence of HCV in the Caribbean was 1.5%; the region should therefore be considered an area of moderate HCV prevalence. The prevalence of HCV among intravenous drug users (21.9–58.8%), persons living with HIV/AIDS (0.8 to 58.5%), prisoners (32.8–64%), and men who have sex with men (MSM) (0.8–6.9%) was generally higher than in the general population (0.8–2.3%). Genotype 1 (83%) was most prevalent followed by genotypes 2 (7.2%) and 3 (2.1%), respectively. Less than 50% of countries in the Caribbean have reliable or well-curated surveillance data on HCV. Drugs currently being used for treatment of HCV infections across the Caribbean include Epclusa (sofosbuvir/velpatasvir) and Harvoni (ledipasvir/sofosbuvir). Some of these drugs are only available in the private sector and are sourced externally whenever needed. While trends point to a potentially higher prevalence of HCV, it will require well-designed random surveys to obtain better estimates of the infection seroprevalence, supported by strong public health laboratory systems. DAAs that are pan-genotypic should translate into treatments that are affordable, accessible, and available to improve cure rates and reduce the HCV burden in the population.https://www.mdpi.com/2414-6366/8/7/370seroprevalencegenotype diversityCaribbeanHCV eliminationpan-genotype treatmenthigh-risk population |
| spellingShingle | Michelle G. Brown John F. Lindo Ivan E. Vickers Kereann Nelson Yakima Phillips Cameil Wilson-Clarke Samuel Gavi Gene D. Morse Andrew H. Talal Seroprevalence and Genotype Diversity of Hepatitis C Virus in the Caribbean—A Review Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease seroprevalence genotype diversity Caribbean HCV elimination pan-genotype treatment high-risk population |
| title | Seroprevalence and Genotype Diversity of Hepatitis C Virus in the Caribbean—A Review |
| title_full | Seroprevalence and Genotype Diversity of Hepatitis C Virus in the Caribbean—A Review |
| title_fullStr | Seroprevalence and Genotype Diversity of Hepatitis C Virus in the Caribbean—A Review |
| title_full_unstemmed | Seroprevalence and Genotype Diversity of Hepatitis C Virus in the Caribbean—A Review |
| title_short | Seroprevalence and Genotype Diversity of Hepatitis C Virus in the Caribbean—A Review |
| title_sort | seroprevalence and genotype diversity of hepatitis c virus in the caribbean a review |
| topic | seroprevalence genotype diversity Caribbean HCV elimination pan-genotype treatment high-risk population |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2414-6366/8/7/370 |
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