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.