Epidemiology of viral hepatitis in Saudi Arabia: Are we off the hook?

Abstract

Some 400 million people worldwide are currently infected with the hepatitis B virus (HBV), and the infection is common in the Middle East. Another 170 million people around the globe presently live with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Both HBV and HCV represent a worldwide epidemic. Despite significant decline in the prevalence of HBV and HCV infection in Saudi Arabia, these viral diseases cause significant morbidity and mortality, and impose a great burden on the country's healthcare system. On the other hand, Saudi epidemiology studies have shown that the hepatitis A virus seroprevalence in the country has reduced considerably over the past two decades. The progress in mapping the epidemiological pattern of viral hepatitis in Saudi Arabia has not only aided our understanding of the disease, but has also exposed the small but relevant gaps in our identification of the intricate details concerning the disease's clinical expression. In this review, we aim to document the timeline of viral hepatitis epidemiology in Saudi Arabia, while summarizing the relevant published literature on the subject.

Overview of Cancer Care and Oncology Nursing in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

“…Furthermore, rates of hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, type 2 diabetes, arthritis problems, and cancer have all increased dramatically in recent years among Saudi citizens [11,12]. These unhealthy diets, smoking, lack of sufficient physical activity, chronic viral infections, and lack of knowledge about cancer and its prevention and screening methods have resulted in rising burden of cancer reported as one of the fastest growing health concerns in the KSA [12,13,14,15]. Based on this increasing cancer burden in the KSA, there is a need for cancer prevention based on healthy lifestyle programming and educational activities for the Saudi population.…”

“…In 2013, there were 495 cases of liver cancer accounting for 4.3% of all newly diagnosed cases [18]. This incidence of liver cancer in the KSA is not unexpected due to the high prevalence of chronic infections with hepatitis B and hepatitis C viruses among the Saudi population which is a precursor for liver cancer [13]. This cancer ranked fourth in males and eighth in females and affected 339 (68.5%) males and 159 (32.1%) females with a male to female ratio of 213:100 as of 2013.…”

Ten-year analysis of hepatitis-related papers in the Middle East: a web of science-based scientometric study

“…It has been reported that other regions such as Southeast Asia have a higher prev-alence of this type of infection and the rates vary across the ME (6,8). The prevalence of HCV infections in Iran and Israel is about 0.5% (9) and 1.96% (10), respectively.…”

“…The global rate of new HAV infections is approximately 1.4 million cases per year (6). However, despite its prevalence across the world, updated data about HAV infections in the ME, including their burdens and seroprevalence, are limited.…”

“…Regarding the importance of forms of hepatitis in general, both hepatitis B and C infections are known to be significant causes of hepatocellular carcinoma (5). Approximately 500,000 to 700,000 people die annually from hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections alone (6), and these infections are an important health concern in the ME region (7). The ME is considered to be a region with intermediate to high endemicity of chronic HBV infections (2).…”