乙型肝炎是一种“沉默的流行病”，比HIV传染性高50至100倍，是由乙型肝炎病毒（HBV）引起的潜在致命肝脏感染。HBV可以引发急性和慢性感染，并随后导致高风险的肝硬化和肝癌致死。尽管已经有一种安全有效的疫苗可用，但HBV仍然是全球的负担，包括冈比亚。本研究回顾了冈比亚乙型肝炎流行病学特征的最新趋势。研究人员在Google Scholar、PubMed和Scopus上进行了过去20年（1992年1月至2022年2月）发表的关于HBV患病率的原始研究的在线文献搜索。根据特定的纳入/排除标准、数据完整性和方法学一致性评估了所有检索到的研究的符合性。我们发现，冈比亚的HBV感染患病率超过8%。此外，HBV是冈比亚肝细胞癌（HCC）最常见的原因。肝硬化和HCC对乙肝患者的死亡贡献最大，而潜伏性HBV携带者是主要罪魁祸首。此外，根据当前文献的报告，疫苗接种覆盖率已经从91%下降到88%。为了实现世界卫生组织在2030年前消除HBV的目标，应该紧急制定针对感染传播的风险群体的控制政策、社区宣传计划、研究、药物降价、大规模疫苗接种和诊断等政策。© 2023 The Authors.

Hepatitis B is a "silent epidemic", fifty to a hundred (50-100) times more infectious than HIV, a potentially life-threatening liver infection caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV). HBV can cause acute and chronic infection and subsequently results in a high risk of death from cirrhosis and liver cancer. Despite the availability of a safe and effective vaccine, HBV continues to be a global burden including in The Gambia. This study reviewed the recent trends in the epidemiological characteristics of HBV in the Gambia. The researchers conducted an online literature search for primary studies on HBV prevalence published in the past two decades from Jan 1992 to Feb 2022 inclusive on Google Scholar, PubMed, and Scopus. All retrieved studies were assessed for eligibility according to specific inclusion/exclusion criteria, data completeness, and methodological coherence. We found that HBV infection prevalence is above 8% in The Gambia. Moreover, HBV is the most common cause of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in Gambia. Liver cirrhosis and HCC have the highest mortality contribution among hepatitis patients, with occult HBV carriers as major culprits. Also, vaccination coverage has declined from 91% to 88% according to reports from current literature. To achieve the WHO goal of eliminating HBV by 2030, policies targeting infection transmission control among risk groups, community awareness programs, research, price reduction of drugs, mass vaccinations, and diagnostics should be urgently instituted.© 2023 The Authors.