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      Hepatitis B virus infection in EU/EEA and United Kingdom prisons: a descriptive analysis

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          Abstract

          People in prison are disproportionately affected by viral hepatitis. To examine the current epidemiology of and responses targeting hepatitis B virus (HBV) in prisons across the European Union, European Economic Area and United Kingdom, we analysed HBV-specific data from the World Health Organization's Health in Prisons European Database and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control's hepatitis B prevalence database. Hepatitis B surface antigen seroprevalence ranged from 0% in a maximum-security prison in United Kingdom to 25.2% in two Bulgarian juvenile detention centres. Universal HBV screening on opt-out basis and vaccination were reported available in 31% and 85% of 25 countries, respectively. Disinfectants, condoms and lubricants were offered free of charge in all prisons in the country by 26%, 46% and 15% of 26 countries, respectively. In 38% of reporting countries, unsupervised partner visits with the possibility for sexual intercourse was available in all prisons. The findings are suggestive of high HBV prevalence amidst suboptimal coverage of interventions in prisons. A harmonised monitoring system and robust data at national and regional levels are needed to better understand the HBV situation in prisons within the framework of the European action plan and Global Health Sector Strategy on viral hepatitis.

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          Antiviral therapy in chronic hepatitis B viral infection during pregnancy: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

          Perinatal or mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of hepatitis B virus (HBV) remains the major risk factor for chronic HBV infection worldwide. In addition to hepatitis B immune globulin and vaccination, oral antiviral therapies in highly viremic mothers can further decrease MTCT of HBV. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to synthesize the evidence on the efficacy and maternal and fetal safety of antiviral therapy during pregnancy. A protocol was developed by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases guideline writing committee. We searched multiple databases for controlled studies that enrolled pregnant women with chronic HBV infection treated with antiviral therapy. Outcomes of interest were reduction of MTCT and adverse outcomes to mothers and newborns. Study selection and data extraction were done by pairs of independent reviewers. We included 26 studies that enrolled 3622 pregnant women. Antiviral therapy reduced MTCT, as defined by infant hepatitis B surface antigen seropositivity (risk ratio = 0.3, 95% confidence interval 0.2-0.4) or infant HBV DNA seropositivity (risk ratio = 0.3, 95% confidence interval 0.2-0.5) at 6-12 months. No significant differences were found in the congenital malformation rate, prematurity rate, and Apgar scores. Compared to control, lamivudine or telbivudine improved maternal HBV DNA suppression at delivery and during 4-8 weeks' postpartum follow-up. Tenofovir showed improvement in HBV DNA suppression at delivery. No significant differences were found in postpartum hemorrhage, cesarean section, and elevated creatinine kinase rates.
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            Hepatitis B/C in the countries of the EU/EEA: a systematic review of the prevalence among at-risk groups

            Background In 2016, the World Health Organisation set a goal to eliminate viral hepatitis by 2030. Robust epidemiological information underpins all efforts to achieve elimination and this systematic review provides estimates of HBsAg and anti-HCV prevalence in the European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA) among three at-risk populations: people in prison, men who have sex with men (MSM), and people who inject drugs (PWID). Methods Estimates of the prevalence among the three risk groups included in our study were derived from multiple sources. A systematic search of literature published during 2005–2015 was conducted without linguistic restrictions to identify studies among people in prison and HIV negative/HIV sero-status unknown MSM. National surveillance focal points were contacted to validate the search results. Studies were assessed for risk of bias and high quality estimates were pooled at country level. PWID data were extracted from the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) repository. Results Despite gaps, we report 68 single study/pooled HBsAg/anti-HCV prevalence estimates covering 23/31 EU/EEA countries, 42 of which were of intermediate/high prevalence using the WHO endemicity threshold (of ≥2%). This includes 20 of the 23 estimates among PWID, 20 of the 28 high quality estimates among people in prison, and four of the 17 estimates among MSM. In general terms, the highest HBsAg prevalence was found among people in prison (range of 0.3% - 25.2%) followed by PWID (0.5% - 6.1%) and MSM (0.0% - 1.4%). The highest prevalence of anti-HCV was also found among people in prison (4.3% - 86.3%) and PWID (13.8% - 84.3%) followed by MSM (0.0% - 4.7%). Conclusions Our results suggest prioritisation of PWID and the prison population as the key populations for HBV/HCV screening and treatment given their dynamic interaction and high prevalence. The findings of this study do not seem to strongly support the continued classification of MSM as a high risk group for chronic hepatitis B infection. However, we still consider MSM a key population for targeted action given the emerging evidence of viral hepatitis transmission within this risk group together with the complex interaction of HBV/HCV and HIV. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12879-018-2988-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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              Current prevalence of chronic hepatitis B and C virus infection in the general population, blood donors and pregnant women in the EU/EEA: a systematic review

              SUMMARY This systematic review aimed at estimating chronic hepatitis B (HBV) and C virus (HCV) prevalence in the European Union (EU) and Economic Area (EEA) countries in the general population, blood donors and pregnant women. We searched PubMed©, Embase© and Cochrane Library databases for reports on HBV and HCV prevalence in the general population and pregnant women in EU/EEA countries published between 2005 and 2015. Council of Europe data were used for HBV and HCV blood donor prevalence. HBV general population estimates were available for 13 countries, ranging from 0·1% to 4·4%. HCV general population estimates were available for 13 countries, ranging from 0·1% to 5·9%. Based on general population and blood donor estimates, the overall HBV prevalence in the EU/EEA is estimated to be 0·9% (95% CI 0·7–1·2), corresponding to almost 4·7 million HBsAg-positive cases; and the overall HCV prevalence to be 1·1% (95% CI 0·9–1·4), equalling 5·6 million anti-HCV-positive cases. We found wide variation in HCV and HBV prevalence across EU/EEA countries for which estimates were available, as well as variability between groups often considered a proxy for the general population. Prevalence estimates are essential to inform policymaking and public health practice. Comparing to other regions globally, HBV and HCV prevalence in the EU/EEA is low.
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                Author and article information

                Journal
                Epidemiol Infect
                Epidemiol Infect
                HYG
                Epidemiology and Infection
                Cambridge University Press (Cambridge, UK )
                0950-2688
                1469-4409
                2021
                25 January 2021
                : 149
                : e59
                Affiliations
                [1 ]Centre for Pharmacoepidemiology, Department of Medicine Solna, Karolinska Institutet , Stockholm, Sweden
                [2 ]European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control , Stockholm, Sweden
                [3 ]European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction , Lisbon, Portugal
                [4 ]Department of Translational Research and New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa , Pisa, Italy
                [5 ]World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe , Copenhagen, Denmark
                Author notes
                Author for correspondence: Aya Olivia Nakitanda, E-mail: aya.nakitanda@ 123456ki.se
                [*]

                Current address: Centre for Pharmacoepidemiology, Department of Medicine Solna, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.

                Author information
                https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7392-208X
                https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2275-5909
                Article
                S0950268821000169
                10.1017/S0950268821000169
                8060813
                33487201
                b407c163-a164-4046-abf6-6f568c5cee10
                © The Author(s) 2021

                This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work.

                History
                : 24 October 2020
                : 16 January 2021
                : 19 January 2021
                Page count
                Figures: 2, Tables: 1, References: 43, Pages: 7
                Categories
                Special Collection Question
                Original Paper

                Public health
                european economic area,european union,hepatitis b virus,prisons
                Public health
                european economic area, european union, hepatitis b virus, prisons

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