Abstract
BackgroundTuberculosis and intestinal parasites are mostly affecting poor people. They are in a vicious since one is the risk factor for the other. However, the comprehensive report on the burden and co-incidence of intestinal parasites and tuberculosis in Ethiopia is scant. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to provide abridge conclusive evidence on the intestinal parasite-tuberculosis co-infection in Ethiopia.MethodsA total of 414 articles published in English were searched from both electronic databases (CINAHL, DOAJ, Embase, Emcare, Medline, ProQuest, and PubMed, Science Direct, and Web of Science) and other sources. The qualities of the included studies were assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal tools and the publication bias was measured using the funnel plot and Eggers regression test. Comprehensive meta-analysis (CMA) Version 3.3.07 and Review Manager software were used to estimate pooled prevalence and associations of intestinal parasites and tuberculosis infection.ResultsEleven articles with a total of 3158 tuberculosis patients included in the analysis based on the eligibility criteria. The estimated pooled prevalence of intestinal parasites co-infection was 33% (95% CI: 23.3, 44.3) using the random-effects model. The most common intestinal parasites were Ascaris lumbricoides 10.5% (95% CI: 6.0, 17.5), Hookworm 9.5% (95% CI: 6.10, 14.4), Giardia lamblia 5.7% (95% CI: 2.90, 10.9) and Strongyloides sterocoralis 5.6% (95% CI: 3.3, 9.5). The odds of intestinal parasites infection was higher among tuberculosis patients compared to tuberculosis free individuals (OR = 1.76; 95% CI: 1.17, 2.63). A significant difference was observed among TB patients for infection with intestinal helminths (OR = 2.01; 95% CI: 1.07, 3.80) but not for intestinal protozoans when compared with their counterparts. The odds of multiple parasitic infections was higher among tuberculosis patients (OR = 2.59, 95% CI: 1.90, 3.55) compared to tuberculosis free individuals. However, intestinal parasites co-infection was not associated with HIV status among tuberculosis patients (OR = 0.97; 95% CI: 0.71, 1.32).ConclusionOne-third of tuberculosis patients are co-infected with one or more intestinal parasites, and they are more likely to be infected with intestinal helminths and multiple intestinal parasitic infections compared to TB free individuals. We recommend routine screening of tuberculosis patients for intestinal parasites. The effect of mass deworming on tuberculosis incidence would be important to be considered in future researches.Trial registrationRegistered on PROSPERO with reference number ID: CRD42019135350.
Highlights
Tuberculosis and intestinal parasites are mostly affecting poor people
Inclusion criteria We reviewed studies based on PICOS criteria
Except for a study done by Feleke et al [14] that screened 1681 TB patients for intestinal parasites, the sample size for each of the remaining 10 studies was below 300
Summary
Tuberculosis and intestinal parasites are mostly affecting poor people. They are in a vicious since one is the risk factor for the other. TB causes 10.0 million illnesses and 1,451,000 deaths in 2018 Most of these cases were reported from African and Asian countries [1]. Intestinal parasites affect many people worldwide, but higher in developing countries [5]. Helminths have immune-modulatory mechanisms to live in a host for years [7, 8] This modulation shifts the immune system to sub divert to Thelper cell (Th) 2 cytokines and causes the human host to be susceptible to Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection [3, 4, 7]. In a study done by Neto et al [5] in Brazil, the findings neither show an association between helminthic infection and a favorable TB outcome, nor between parasitism and tuberculin skin test (TST) response
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