Said ZNA, El-Sayed MH. Challenge of managing hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus infections in resource-limited settings. World J Hepatol 2022; 14(7): 1333-1343 [PMID: 36158908 DOI: 10.4254/wjh.v14.i7.1333]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Zeinab Nabil Ahmed Said, PhD, Professor, Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Faculty of Medicine for girls Al-Azhar University, Nasr City, Cairo 11754, Egypt. znabil58@yahoo.com
Research Domain of This Article
Virology
Article-Type of This Article
Minireviews
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Hepatol. Jul 27, 2022; 14(7): 1333-1343 Published online Jul 27, 2022. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v14.i7.1333
Challenge of managing hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus infections in resource-limited settings
Zeinab Nabil Ahmed Said, Manal Hamdy El-Sayed
Zeinab Nabil Ahmed Said, Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Faculty of Medicine for Girls Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt
Manal Hamdy El-Sayed, Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt
Author contributions: Said ZNA and El-Sayed MH contributed equally to this work.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors declare no conflict of interest in relation to the manuscript.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Zeinab Nabil Ahmed Said, PhD, Professor, Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Faculty of Medicine for girls Al-Azhar University, Nasr City, Cairo 11754, Egypt. znabil58@yahoo.com
Received: October 7, 2021 Peer-review started: October 7, 2021 First decision: December 2, 2021 Revised: January 30, 2022 Accepted: June 13, 2022 Article in press: June 13, 2022 Published online: July 27, 2022 Processing time: 293 Days and 0.5 Hours
Abstract
The global burden of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections and coinfection represents a major public health concern, particularly in resource-limited settings. Elimination of HCV by 2030 has become foreseeable, with effective direct-acting antiviral oral therapies and the availability of affordable generics in low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs). However, access to oral nucleos(t)ide therapy for HBV remains critical and is limited outside the existing global HIV program platforms despite affordable prices. Prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HBV through scaling up of birth dose implementation in LMICs is essential to achieve the 2030 elimination goal. Most individuals living with HBV and/or HCV in resource-limited settings are unaware of their infection, and with improved access to medications, the most significant barrier remains access to affordable diagnostics and preventive strategies. The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic interrupted hepatitis elimination programs, albeit offered opportunities for improved diagnostic capacities and raised political awareness of the critical need for strengthening health care services and universal health coverage. This review underpins the HBV and HCV management challenges in resource-limited settings, highlighting the current status and suggested future elimination strategies in some of these countries. Global efforts should continue to improve awareness and political commitment. Financial resources should be secured to access and implement comprehensive strategies for diagnosis and linkage to care in resource-constrained settings to fulfill the 2030 elimination goal.
Core Tip: This minireview presents the data and challenges associated with hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV)/coinfection in resource-limited settings. It also underlines the key gaps and strategies for elimination of HBV and HCV infections in the low and middle-income countries. Global efforts should continue to improve awareness and political commitment. Equally important is securing financial resources for access and implementation of comprehensive strategies for diagnosis and linkage to care in resource-constrained settings to fulfill the 2030 elimination goal.
