BACKGROUND

Pathogenic intestinal protozoa are considered as a serious public health problem in developing countries. This study aimed to elucidate the overall prevalence and spatial distribution of three common human pathogenic intestinal protozoan infections in Iran.

METHODS

Six English and Persian databases were explored for published papers on the prevalence of , and spp. in the general population of Iran from 2000 to 2015. All eligible data were collected using a pre-designed data extraction form, and the overall prevalence was estimated using a random-effects meta-analysis model. We used ArcMap for mapping the prevalence of the studied protozoa and clustering analysis.

RESULTS

Altogether, 118 eligible papers from 24 provinces of Iran were included and analyzed. The weighted prevalence of , , and spp. infection among Iranian general population were calculated 1.3% (95% CI 1.1-1.5%), 10.6% (95% CI 9.6-11.5%) and 2% (95% CI 1.5-2.5%), respectively.

CONCLUSION

Our findings indicated human intestinal protozoan infections caused by , and spp. have still public health importance in some parts of Iran.