Abstract
BackgroundUnderstanding the prevalence of soil-transmitted helminth infections is necessary to plan control strategies and focus on highly endemic regions for preventive chemotherapy and improved sanitation facilities. India is known to be endemic for soil-transmitted helminth infections.MethodsTo understand the prevalence, spatial distribution and identify high-risk zones, a systematic search of published literature was carried out based on PRISMA guidelines from the year 2000 to 2015.ResultsA careful screening of the identified literature yielded 39 studies that reported the prevalence of soil-transmitted helminth infections from 19 different states of India. Ascaris lumbricoides was the most prevalent parasite. Higher than 50% prevalence was reported from six states. Nearly 90% studies reported the prevalence of more than one parasite species in the same sample population.ConclusionThis is the first study to comprehensively review the literature associated with soil-transmitted helminth infections from India giving a clear idea of its prevalence, distribution and high endemic areas.
Highlights
Understanding the prevalence of soil-transmitted helminth infections is necessary to plan control strategies and focus on highly endemic regions for preventive chemotherapy and improved sanitation facilities
The purpose of this review is to evaluate the prevalence of Soil-transmitted Helminths (STH) infections and identify high-risk areas in different regions of India, based on a comprehensive search and analysis of published literature
Search Strategy and Data extraction We did a review based on PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines to identify all relevant publications pertaining to the prevalence of STH infections in India
Summary
Understanding the prevalence of soil-transmitted helminth infections is necessary to plan control strategies and focus on highly endemic regions for preventive chemotherapy and improved sanitation facilities. India is known to be endemic for soil-transmitted helminth infections. Soil-transmitted Helminths (STH) infects nearly 2 billion people of world’s population with children being the most affected [1]. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates, 870 million children live in the area of high prevalence. South Asia and South America are the most affected regions of the world [2]. India alone contributes nearly 25% to the total global cases with 220.6 million children in need of preventive chemotherapy [3]. The warm and moist climate of tropical and subtropical countries provides the ideal environment for the survival of parasite eggs or larvae of these four STH, roundworm (Ascaris lumbricoides), whipworm (Trichuris trichiura) and hookworm (Necator americanus, Ancylostoma duodenale) [5]
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