Prevalence of Microsporidiosis in Different Hosts in Turkey: A Meta-analysis

Abstract

Objective: Microsporidia are opportunistic obligate intracellular pathogens which infect many vertebrate and invertebrate hosts. This study aimed at investigating all evidence about microsporidia infection in human and other vertebrate hosts in Turkey. Methods: This study covered all prevalence studies, related to microsporidiosis in Turkey until April 2020, that were found in Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, and ULAKBIM databases were considered in this meta-analysis. A total of 168 studies were identified in the systematic literature research. After the initial assessment, only 15 articles (12 humans and three other vertebrates) were included for meta-analysis. Data analysis was carried out using the Revman 5.3 (Review Manage 5.3) software. Results: With the evaluation of these studies, it was found that the prevalence of microsporidia in humans (n=6.707) and other vertebrate hosts (n=506) was 13.4% and 15.2%, respectively. The risk ratio in the patient groups was 2.87 compared to the control group [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.20-6.87, I2=87%, p<0.00001]. There was no difference between genders and parasite prevalence (95% CI: 1.00-1.39, I2=18%, p=0.29). The prevalence of microsporidia was also found to be high in patients with diarrhea (95% CI: 1.09-1.58, I2=86%, p=0.0001) and in immunosuppressed individuals (95% CI: 1.86-3.70, I2=16%, p=0.31). Conclusion: Although there are few studies on the prevalence of these parasites, the results of this meta-analysis provides extensive information about the current situation in Turkey.