A Dire Need To Break The Back Of Hepatitis C Virus In KP-Pakistan: A Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Viral Hepatitis is the seventh leading cause of death worldwide and prevails in many developing countries specifically in the Middle East and North African regions. The current study focuses on a comparatively low-income province of Pakistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where medical facilities are scarce and the use of blood and its products, free from viral hepatitis and other pathogens, is poorly ensured. The preliminary phase of the study involved a systematic literature review on the epidemiology of Hepatitis C Virus in KP during the period 2000-2018 through PubMed, Science Direct, and Google Scholar. After statistical coding, an initial meta-analysis was conducted to come up with an integrated estimate of the prevalence of Hepatitis C Virus in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The prevalence rate of 4% by fixed effect model and of 6% by random effect model is extremely alarming, especially in a low-income region, and the Pakistani government should adopt effective and rapid strategies to eliminate Hepatitis C Virus infection by the end of 2030, as more times announced by the World Health Organization.