Hepatitis B Virus Studies in Sierra Leone: A Scope Review Highlighting the lack of Genotypic research

Abstract

Introduction: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) remains a major public Health problem in sub-Saharan Africa. Although Sierra Leone is considered highly endemic for HBV, the extent, characteristics, and evolution of HBV research conducted in the country have not been comprehensively evaluated. This scoping review mapped the available evidence on HBV research in Sierra Leone, identified research trends, and highlighted existing knowledge gaps, particularly in molecular epidemiology and genotypic characterization. Methods: We used Arksey and O’Malley’s strategy to conduct a scoping review of Hepatitis B studies using Pubmed, Google Scholar, Semantic Scholar, Oipub, Litmaps, and R. HBV-related studies conducted in Sierra Leone and published between 1997 and 2024 were primarily screened for eligibility. The focus of this study was to identify information on study design, methodology, study population, and geographical locations. Findings were extracted into Microsoft excel and descriptively analyzed in RStudio v2026.04.0+526. Methodological quality assessment of individual studies was not performed. Results: Forty-five studies (N=45) on Hepatitis B virus met the inclusion criteria. The research studies increased over time from 1997 to 2024, peaking in 2023 (27%; N=12). The most common theme was prevalence (N=22). Research was geographically concentrated in Freetown (44.4%; N=20) and Bo (18%, N=8), with a few nationwide studies (11%; N=5). The immunochromatography test method (46%) predominated the studies. No study employed HBV genotyping despite the few PCR studies (8%). Reported prevalence ranged from 2% to 35%. Conclusion: HBV research in Sierra Leone has expanded over the past decades, particularly in seroepidemiology and public health. However, this study highlights gaps in molecular epidemiology including published evidence on HBV genotype and genomic surveillance. Strengthening molecular diagnostic capacity, expanding PCR and sequencing, and integrating molecular surveillance into national Hepatitis programmes should be prioritized to support evidence-based clinical management and progress toward the World Health Organization’s 2030 viral hepatitis elimination targets.