Viral Hepatitis

Biography

Biography: Abdulrahman A. Aljumah

Abstract

The Middle East is a geographical region that includes areas in Southwest Asia and parts of North Africa. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a major cause of chronic hepatitis, liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma and is the leading indication for liver transplantation. It was estimated that 170 million people are infected with HCV, with a worldwide prevalence of 3%. HCV is one of the main causes of mortality and morbidity globally. In the Middle East, HCV is a significant health concern, with some areas in the region categorized as having a high prevalence of HCV infection (1-3.5%). Egypt has the highest prevalence of HCV in the world (>15%).  It was estimated that currently there are at least 23 million people live with HCV infection in the countries of the Eastern Mediterranean Region. This is almost similar to the number of total HCV cases in the Americas and Europe together. The most prevalent HCV genotype in the Middle East region is genotype 4. However, genotype 1 is also common and the most prevalent among non-Arab countries in the region including Turkey, Iran and Cyprus. With the recent discovery of the new direct antiviral therapies, there have been significant developments in treatment strategies that have provided an opportunity to eliminate HCV infection in the near future. However, there are some major issues concerning HCV that still need to be tackled in the Middle East, particularly, the cost of new drugs and the difficulty of identifying patients with HCV infection. HCV remains however a substantial challenge in the Middle East. Important health and financial burden namely; the cost of new drugs and the difficulty of identifying patients with HCV infection are issues that need hard work. To establish public health strategies, more efforts are required for prevention and treatment programs.

Publications:

1. Liakina V, et al. Historical epidemiology of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in select countries. J Viral Hepat. 2015; 22 Suppl 4:4-20.

2. Sibley A, et al. The present and future disease burden of hepatitis C virus infections with today's treatment paradigm. J Viral Hepat. 2015; 22 Suppl 4:21-41.

3. Alfaleh FZ, et al. Strategies to manage hepatitis C virus infection disease burden. J Viral Hepat. 2015; 22 Suppl 4:42-65.

4. Aljumah AA, et al. Epidemiology, disease burden, and treatment strategies of chronic hepatitis C virus infections in Saudi Arabia in the new treatment paradigm shift. Saudi J Gastroenterol. 2016; 22(4): 269-81.

5. Aljumah AA, et al. Clinical Presentation, Risk Factors, and Treatment Modalities of Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Single Tertiary Care Center Experience. Gastroenterol Res Pract. 2016; 2016:1989045.

6. Aljumah AA, et al. Clinical Presentation, Treatment Outcome and Predictors of Severity in Autoimmune Hepatitis: A Retrospective, Multicenter Experience. Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Research 2016; 5(4): 2047-2051.

7. Balkhy HH, et al. Magnitude and causes of loss to follow-up among patients with viral hepatitis at a tertiary care hospital in Saudi Arabia. J Infect Public Health. 2016 Oct 6. pii: S1876-0341(16)30101-0.

8. Blach S, et al.  Global prevalence and genotype distribution of hepatitis C virus infection in 2015: a modelling study. Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2017 Mar;2(3):161-176.

9. Khan A, et al. Tracing the epidemic history of hepatitis C virus genotypes in Saudi Arabia. Infect Genet Evol. 2017 Apr 27;52:82-88.

10. Aljumah AA, et al. Policy of screening for colorectal cancer in Saudi Arabia: A prospective analysis. Saudi J Gastroenterol. 2017;23(3):161-168.