Prevailing genotypes of hepatitis C virus in Saudi Arabia: a systematic analysis of evidence.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Although hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 4 has been reported to be prevalent in some countries of the Middle East, the genotype distribution in some geographical areas is not conclusive. We aimed to perform a meta-analysis on available literature on this issue in an attempt to identify or confirm the prevailing HCV genotypes in Saudi Arabia.

METHODS

We searched for reports describing genotypes in Saudi Arabia. A meta-analysis was performed on the samples in 18 studies, published between 1995 and 2011, in which HCV genotypes were identified.

RESULTS

A total of 2277 specimens from 18 studies showed that 617, 82, 119 and 1198 subjects were HCV-positive for genotypes 1, 2, 3 and 4, respectively. The meta-analyses showed that there is a great deal of heterogeneity in estimated prevalence among the studies. The highest prevalence was found in genotype HCV-4, followed by HCV-1, HCV-3, and HCV-2.

CONCLUSION

Our meta-analysei emphasizes that HCV genotype 4 is the most prevalent, followed by genotype 1. Further studies on genotype determination and subtype distribution are warranted.