Chronic Hepatitis C Estimated At 9.2 Million Individuals In Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

Experts Estimate The Majority Remain Undiagnosed. Consensus Statement On Challenges Announced on World Hepatitis Day

DUBAI, UAE, July 27, 2011 –Scientific medical experts from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region today jointly announced a consensus statement on the identification and challenges posed by chronic hepatitis C in this region, calling for national and local governments and health care providers to join forces to address this condition. Hepatitis C is highly prevalent in the MENA region with approximately 9.2 million individuals infected with this condition. The announcement was made at a press conference today in Dubai on the eve of World Hepatitis Day, attended by international and MENA scientific medical experts. 

The consensus statement resulted from a 12-country study in the MENA region in 2010 by the international scientific agency PharmARC with support from MSD, the global healthcare leader. The study comprised a search of the literature gauging the opinion of selected hepatitis C experts from the MENA region. Following the outcomes of this research the experts met as a ‘clinical network’ and authored a White Paper on the Socio-Economic Burden of Hepatitis C to generate regional patient management and infection prevention recommendations, as well as country-specific research and initiatives to guide efforts toward addressing the hepatitis C challenges.

Key conclusions reached by the hepatitis C experts in their consensus statement include:

• Hepatitis C is highly prevalent in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region with variations in prevalence from country to country.
• An estimated 9.2 million people with chronic hepatitis C infection reside among the countries included in the study. Experts estimate that only one third of those infected have been diagnosed.
• For most MENA countries, the prevalence of hepatitis C antibody positivity is estimated to be between 1 – 2 per cent; the exception is Egypt for which the estimated prevalence is around 14 per cent for adults aged 15-60 years.
• HCV genotype 4 (HCV-4) is particularly common in the Middle East and North Africa, where it is responsible for 30-80 per cent of HCV infections.
• Most countries have major deficiencies in their information and co-ordination systems, critical for the implementation of hepatitis C services.

 “Because our findings shed further light on the seriousness of the hepatitis C in MENA and because insufficient attention has been given to addressing the problem in a region - which has one of the highest prevalence of infection anywhere in the world - we agreed that our conclusions and recommendations should underpin a consensus statement on hepatitis C in MENA," said Professor David Goldberg, professor of Public Health and Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Scotland. "We believe that such a statement will raise awareness of the problem among the population at large and people who have a responsibility for providing services to prevent both hepatitis C infection among those currently uninfected and hepatitis C related disease among infected individuals,” he added.

According to the White Paper on the Socio-Economic Burden of Hepatitis C, in some MENA countries, particularly those with a lower gross domestic product (GDP), a major route of infection is exposure to unsterile equipment in healthcare settings. The experts urge that strict infection control measures must be implemented according to best standard practices. In some MENA countries, an increasing number of people are becoming infected through injecting drug use and tattooing practices; for that reason , all countries should be aware of, and respond to, the emerging hepatitis C transmission threats posed by such behaviours.

With the consensus statement, the scientific medical experts call for a systematic approach to the collection of information on hepatitis C to improve the understanding of the size of the populations at risk, infected, diagnosed and treated populations, and the proportion of the infected population who have advanced liver disease. In addition, raising patients' awareness on the risks and treatment options needs to be improved.

“A program of awareness raising initiatives, aimed at both preventing and diagnosing hepatitis C, should be developed and implemented; these should be designed for the general population, school children and people belonging to high risk groups," said, added Professor Ibrahim Mostafa, M.D., Ph.D., title, Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Cairo University.  "Infection control measures should be reviewed and further developed to ensure that individuals are not placed at risk of acquiring infection, particularly in health care settings. Initiatives to promote public access to hepatitis C testing, and thus the early detection of infection among those at increased risk, should be implemented.” 

As many of the issues relating to hepatitis C are common to all countries throughout the region, the experts recommend that MENA countries should support each other by sharing best practices and technical advice and by generate guidelines to be used at a regional level. A government led action plan to implement the recommendations of the consensus statement should be developed with national and local multidisciplinary networks for prevention, care and treatment to promote a consistent and effective approach to the management of hepatitis C.

About PharmARC
Founded in 2004, PharmARC is a 100% life sciences focused company that provides analytic solutions for efficient commercialization of drugs and medical products. The team comprises of over 200 highly qualified personnel including technical analysts, software engineers, statisticians, physicians and domain industry and forecasting experts. Today PharmARC’s client list includes over 50 major healthcare companies in the world of which 15 figure among the top 20 global pharmaceutical players. The company has its headquarters in Bangalore, India with offices in Basel, New Jersey and presence in Paris, London, Shanghai and Seoul.

About MSD
Today's MSD is a global healthcare leader working to help the world be well. MSD is a trade name of Merck & Co., Inc., with headquarters in Whitehouse Station, N.J., U.S.A. Through our prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, and consumer care and animal health products, we work with customers and operate in more than 140 countries to deliver innovative health solutions. We also demonstrate our commitment to increasing access to healthcare through far-reaching policies, programs and partnerships.