Prevalence and risk factors for hepatitis C virus infection in an informal settlement in Karachi, Pakistan

Bibliographic Data

ID19593353
AuthorsMunazza Mansoor (0000-0003-1695-7600, Interactive Research and Development, corresponding author), William A de Glanville (0000-0003-2474-0356, Médecins Sans Frontières, corresponding author), Ridwa Alam (Interactive Research and Development, corresponding author), Khawar Aslam (0000-0002-6852-5829, Médecins Sans Frontières, corresponding author), Mubashir Ahmed (Médecins Sans Frontières, corresponding author), Petros Isaakidis (0000-0002-7881-1554, Médecins Sans Frontières, corresponding author), Aneeta Pasha (0000-0002-2699-4301, Interactive Research and Development, corresponding author)
EditorsChrispin Chaguza
Year2023
Volume3
Issue9
Pagese0002076
Publication date2023-09-20
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePLOS Global Public Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2767-3375 • E-ISSN: 2767-3375
PublisherPublic Library of Science (PLoS) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1371/journal.pgph.0002076
PMID37729129
OpenAlexW4386884513
LanguageEN
References cited39

The burden of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in Pakistan is amongst the highest in the world. People living in slums are likely to be at high risk of infection. Here, we describe the results of a cross-sectional survey conducted in March 2022 that aimed to quantify the prevalence of HCV infection in Machar Colony, one of the largest and oldest slum settlements in Karachi. Risk factors for HCV seropositivity were identified using multi-level logistic regression. We recruited 1,303 individuals in a random selection of 441 households from Machar Colony. The survey-adjusted HCV-seroprevalence was 13.5% (95% Confidence Interval (CI) 11.1–15.8) and survey-adjusted viraemic prevalence was 4.1% (95% CI 3.1–5.4) with a viraemic ratio of 32% (95% CI 24.3–40.5). Of 162 seropositive people, 71 (44%) reported receiving previous treatment for chronic hepatitis C. The odds of HCV seropositivity were found to increase with each additional reported therapeutic injection in the past 12 months (OR = 1.07 (95% Credible Interval (CrI) 1.00–1.13)). We found weaker evidence for a positive association between HCV seropositivity and a reported history of receiving a blood transfusion (OR = 1.72 (95% CrI 0.90–3.21)). The seroprevalence was more than double the previously reported seroprevalence in Sindh Province. The overall proportion of seropositive people that were viraemic was lower than expected. This may reflect the long-term impacts of a non-governmental clinic providing free of cost and easily accessible hepatitis C diagnosis and treatment to the population since 2015. Reuse of needles and syringes is likely to be an important driver of HCV transmission in this setting. Future public health interventions should address the expected risks associated with iatrogenic HCV transmission in this community

Antibody · Confidence interval · Cross-sectional study · Environmental health · Hepatitis C · Hepatitis C virus · Logistic regression · Odds ratio · Pathology · Serology · Seroprevalence · Virus · Demography · Hepatitis B Virus Studies · Hepatitis C virus research · HIV, Drug Use, Sexual Risk · Medicine · Immunology · Internal Medicine

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