Background: Viral hepatitis represents a major public health burden with more than 375 million people with chronic hepatitis B infection and 130 to 150 million with hepatitis C for 2016. Sub-Saharan Africa has the heaviest burden of the epidemic. Objective: The objective of this review is to present the characteristics of hepatitis B and C infections (HBV and HCV), present the synthesis and estimate its magnitude in the Democratic Republic of Congo for the last 20 years. Methods: This work consisted in cataloging the various published articles and abstracts presented in scientific conferences having as subject of interest the infection with viral hepatitis B and C in the DRC. The search for these published works on different infections was done on the internet from different search engines. The research was limited to published works and abstracts presented over the last 20 years. Pediatric studies, studies in patients with renal or hepatic infections or without original data were not included in this review. Results: According to the various works published and presented in conference since 1997, the populations targeted for the investigations on the hepatitis B and C infections are the poly-transfused, the blood donors and the People Living with HIV. Seven (7) works have been documented for the DRC meeting the various selection criteria. In 1999, the carriage of HBV infection was 9.2% in Kinshasa. In 2000, the carriage of HBV was 5.9% while that of HCV was 4.8% in Kinshasa. In 2001, the portage of HCV was 5.0% in Kinshasa. In 2004, the prevalence of HBs antigen was 5.4% in Kisangani. In 2008, the prevalence of HBV and HCV was 8% and 4% respectively in Bukavu. In 2008, seroprevalences of HBV and HCV were respectively 4.2% and 3.8% in Bukavu. In 2012 and 2013, prevalence of HCV was 5.8% and 5.2% respectively in Kinshasa. Conclusions: Although often asymptomatic, viral hepatitis B and C are a public health problem for the Democratic Republic of Congo. The prevalence of these viral infections is far superior to that of HIV infection in Blood Transfusion Centers across the country.
Hepatitis B and C viruses (HBV and HCV) are different viruses that have the same modes of transmission, the same targets and present the same symptoms. HBV is a DNA virus belonging to the family of hepadnaviridae of the genus orthohepadnavirus [
Viral hepatitis represents a major public health burden with more than 375 million people with chronic hepatitis B infection and 130 to 150 million with hepatitis C for 2016, of which 4 to 5 million infected with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and about one million deaths per year [
For HBV, transmission is mainly parenteral, sexual and maternofetal [
People infected with HBV and HCV do not usually feel sick and recover completely. Those who are symptomatic have symptoms similar to the common flu (fever, headaches, etc.) as well as stomachaches, diarrhea and jaundice that normally begin 1 - 3 months after the virus enters the body. Ten percent (10%) of adults with acute hepatitis B and 80% of those with hepatitis C develop chronic infection that may result in cirrhosis and/or liver cancer later in the patient [
For several years, different works have made it possible to better understand and specify the different profiles as well as the carriage of hepatitis infection in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) among transfused persons, blood donors and People Living with HIV (PLHIV). The objective of this review is to present the characteristics of hepatitis B and C infections (HBV and HCV), to present the synthesis and to estimate the extent of this infection in the DRC for the last 20 years.
This work consisted in cataloging the various published articles and abstracts presented in scientific conferences having as subject of interest the viral hepatitis B and C infection in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The search for these published works on the different infections was made from the following search engines on the internet: 1) Cochrane library; 2) Google scholar; 3) MEDLINE/PubMed; 4) POPLINE electronic database of published scientific documents; 5) Public access data on conference papers; 6) Scientific report published on the internet. This online search was based on the following keywords: “HBV, HCV, DRC”, “hepatitis, and Democratic Republic of Congo”.
The research was limited to published works and abstracts presented over the last 20 years (1997 to 2017). The manuscripts were retained according to the relevance of the methodology of the different works, the results and the representability of the samples. The socio-demographic information of the sample, the methods of measurement and the objectives were considered in the evaluation of the articles. Re-reading of the various manuscripts excluded articles and abstracts that did not directly concern hepatitis B and C in the DRC. Pediatric studies, studies in patients with renal or hepatic infections or without original data were not included in this review.
The objective of this literature review was to present the carriage and extent of hepatitis B and C infection (HBV and HCV) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) compared to the different data published over the last 20 years. Seven (7) works have been documented for the DRC particularly meeting the different selection criteria. According to the various works published and presented in conference since 1997, the populations targeted for the surveillance surveys on the hepatitis B and C infections are the poly-transfused, the blood donors and the People Living with HIV (PLHIV). All data are presented in
In 1999, Mbendi NC et al. reported a prevalence of HBV infection of 9.2% using 7277 sera from volunteers who agreed to donate blood for the first time (first time blood donor) in the eastern part of the city of Kinshasa [
Study | Years | City | Total Number of population | Number of females | Prevalence of HBV | Prevalence of HCV |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mbendi NC et al. [ | 1999 | Kinshasa | 7277 | 1608 (22.1%) | 9.2% | - |
Baleka et al. [ | 2000 | Kinshasa | 373 | 62 (16.6%) | 5.9% | 4.8% |
Laurent C et al. [ | 2001 | Kinshasa | 1806 | 1806 (100%) | - | 5.0% |
Batina A et al. [ | 2003-2004 | Kisangani | 3390 | 1843 (54.4%) | 5.4% | - |
Kabinda JM et al. [ | 2008 | Bukavu | 211 VIH− 209 VIH+ | 142 (67.2%) 141 (67.4%) | 8% 8% | 4% 10% |
Kabinda JM et al. [ | 2012 | Bukavu | 1079 | 298 (27.6%) | 4.2% | 3.88% |
Kamangu NE et al. [ | 2012 2013 | Kinshasa | 5271 5040 | 1467 (14.2%) | - | 5.8% 5.2% |
Kimbanguist Hospital (HKK) and N’djili Hospital (HND) [
In 2000, Baleka F et al. worked on 373 blood donor sera from blood transfusion centers at Kinshasa General Hospital (KGH), Kimbanseke Kimbanguist Hospital, Kintambo Hospital, Bondeko Clinic and Ngaliema Clinic, all in the city of Kinshasa [
In 2001, Laurent C et al. presented a carriage of 5.0% for HCV in an all-female population of 1806 HIV-negative patients [
In Kisangani, capital of Orientale Province, Batina A et al. published a portage of HBs antigen in the period from 2003 to 2004 of 5.4% in a population of 3390 blood donors at the Provincial Blood Transfusion Center (PBTC) of Kisangani [
In Bukavu, capital of South Kivu province, Kabinda JM et al. reported hepatitis B and C prevalences of 8% and 10% respectively in a population of 209 immunocompromised patients (HIV positive) and 8% and 4% in a population of 211 immunocompetent controls (HIV-negative) in 2008 [
In 2014, Kabinda JM et al. published a seroprevalence of hepatitis B and C respectively of 4.2% and 3.8% on a population of 1079 voluntary unpaid blood donors in Bukavu [
For the years 2012 and 2013, Kamangu NE et al. published a carriage of HCV respectively 5.8% and 5.2% of 5271 and 5040 blood bags tested at National Blood Transfusion Center (NBTC) in Kinshasa, a total of 10,311 blood bags for 2 years [
Studies presenting the prevalence of hepatitis B and C in the DRC are for the most part conducted in Blood Transfusion Centers (BTC) across the country. There is no study conducted in the general population.
Through all these different studies, it is clear that the prevalence of hepatitis is always higher than that of HIV in blood donor populations; from 6.4% and 9.2% in 1999 [
Although often asymptomatic, viral hepatitis B and C are a public health problem for the Democratic Republic of Congo. The carriage of these viral infections is far superior to that of HIV infection in Blood Transfusion Centers across the country.
The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.
Bulanda, B.I., Bongenya, B.I., Kabasele, J.-Y.D., Okonda, M.O., Chuga, D., Tshisumbu, C., Kateba, E.T. and Kamangu, E.N. (2018) Infection with Hepatitis B and C Virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo: A Public Health Problem. Open Access Library Journal, 5: e4760. https://doi.org/10.4236/oalib.1104760