The Role of COVID-19 Pandemic on Malaria Incidence; Meta-Analysis and Systematic Review Study

Abstract

Background: Today, COVID-19 and malaria are the leading causes of death in the worldwide. Malaria and COVID-19 have common aspects and may be was a high potential for mutual influence. Hence, consequences and outcomes of COVID-19 become very dangerous and problematic. The aim of this study, investigate of the influence of COVID-19 mortality and malaria prevalence by systematic review and meta-analysis study. Method: We searched authentic research databases by using the following keywords in English language. In additional, for statistical analysis, meta-analysis and random effect model and I2 index were used. Statistical analysis was performed with STAT (version 11.2). Result: In the present study, nine articles were selected from 1,014 articles that examined co-infection in COVID-19 and malaria. This study revealed that co-infection between malaria and COVID-19 has very interesting and surprising results. OR (odds ratio) =-1.2 (95% CI: -1.8 to -0.6). We encounter high values of I2 in the study (l2=98.549). Conclusion: People with malaria who show symptoms such as fever should be evaluated by COVID-19 to prevent serious complications. The present study provided information on malaria and COVID-19 co-infection. Nevertheless, further prospective studies are needed to investigate the burden and consequences of COVID-19 in malaria endemic areas.