American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) and Canadian Indigenous people are disproportionally affected by hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection yet are frequently underrepresented in epidemiologic studies and surveys often used to inform public health efforts. We performed a systematic review of published and unpublished literature and summarized our findings on HCV prevalence in these Indigenous populations. We found a disparity of epidemiologic literature of HCV prevalence among AI/AN in the United States and Indigenous people in Canada. The limited data available, which date from 1995, demonstrate a wide range of HCV prevalence in AI/AN (1.49%–67.60%) and Indigenous populations (2.28%–90.24%). The highest HCV prevalence in both countries was reported in studies that either included or specifically targeted people who inject drugs. Lower prevalence was reported in studies of general Indigenous populations, although in Canada, the lowest prevalence was up to 3-fold higher in Aboriginal people compared with general population estimates. The disparity of available data on HCV prevalence and need for consistent and enhanced HCV surveillance and reporting among Indigenous people are highlighted. HCV affects Indigenous peoples to a greater degree than the general population; thus we recommend tribal and community leaders be engaged in enhanced surveillance efforts and that funds benefitting all Indigenous persons be expanded to help prevent and cover health care expenses to help stop this epidemic.

中文翻译：

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美国和加拿大土著居民的丙型肝炎病毒感染。


美洲印第安人/阿拉斯加原住民 (AI/AN) 和加拿大原住民受丙型肝炎病毒 (HCV) 感染的影响尤为严重，但在经常用于为公共卫生工作提供信息的流行病学研究和调查中代表性不足。我们对已发表和未发表的文献进行了系统回顾，并总结了我们关于这些土著人群中 HCV 患病率的发现。我们发现美国 AI/AN 人群和加拿大原住民中 HCV 患病率的流行病学文献存在差异。自 1995 年以来的有限数据表明，AI/AN (1.49%–67.60%) 和原住民 (2.28%–90.24%) 中 HCV 患病率存在​​很大差异。包括或专门针对注射吸毒者的研究报告称，这两个国家的丙肝病毒感染率最高。尽管在加拿大，原住民的最低患病率比一般人群的估计值高出 3 倍，但对一般原住民群体的研究报告的患病率较低。强调了关于丙型肝炎病毒流行率的现有数据的差异以及对原住民中一致和加强的丙型肝炎病毒监测和报告的需求。丙肝病毒对原住民的影响比对一般人群的影响更大；因此，我们建议部落和社区领导人加强监测工作，并扩大惠及所有原住民的资金，以帮助预防和支付医疗费用，以帮助阻止这一流行病。