Public Health and Epidemiology Participation: Viral Hepatitis in Saudi Arabia: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Introduction: Infection with hepatitis viruses is a major public health problem, and decision-makers are still not prioritizing the control measures and providing the necessary funding. Viral hepatitis is a major global health problem. In 2014, it was estimated that about 257 million and 33 million people were living with chronic HBV and HCV infections, respectively. Almost 1.4 million people died from these infections, most of these cases encountered in low- and lower-middle-income countries. Viral hepatitis was ranked as the seventh leading cause of mortality in 2013, while in the most recent assessment for 2017, the death rates were significantly different. The age-standardized mortality decreased for most infectious diseases, and viral hepatitis moved to the 12th and 15th ranks for the highest and lowest Socio-Demographic Index countries, respectively. The study highlights the changing picture of viral hepatitis in the last ten years and draws attention to the relatively modest performance of viral hepatitis infectious control globally, as well as in the Eastern Mediterranean region.