Abebe Wagaw, Kassanew Birhanu, Misganaw Tadesse, Ashagre Agenagnew, Kumie Getinet, Nigatie Marye, Gashaw Yalewayker, Tamrat Ephrem, Woldesenbet Dagmawi, Bazezew Alembante
Department of Medical Laboratory Science, College of Health Sciences, Woldia University, Woldia, Ethiopia.
Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Wachemo University, Hossana, Ethiopia.
Parasite Epidemiol Control. 2025 Mar 13;29:e00422. doi: 10.1016/j.parepi.2025.e00422. eCollection 2025 May.
Malaria and schistosomiasis are two parasite illnesses that share transmission sites in distinct tropical climates. Malaria-schistosomiasis coinfection is widespread in Africa. Also, malaria and coinfection cause exacerbation of health consequences and co-morbidities. However, there is limited pooled data on the prevalence of malaria and coinfection in sub-Saharan Africa.
This systemic review and meta-analysis aimed to assess the prevalence of malaria and coinfection in sub-Saharan Africa.
Systematic search on PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, and Science Direct was used to identify relevant studies following reviews and meta-analysis guidelines. A total of eighteen relevant articles on the prevalence of malaria and coinfection were identified for final systematic review and meta-analysis. Extracted data was analyzed using STATA software version 17.0. The absence or presence of publication bias was assessed using Egger's test. Heterogeneity across studies was checked by I statistics; if the I value was ≥50 %, significant heterogeneity was considered and subgroup analysis was done.
A total of 18 studies were included for this systematic review and meta-analysis. From this meta-analysis, the pooled prevalence of malaria and coinfection was 17.39 % (95 % CI: 5.94-28.84). There was significant heterogeneity in prevalence of coinfection, with I values greater than or equal to 99.97 % at = 0.00. The subgroup analysis based on year of publication showed that the pooled prevalence of malaria and coinfection in studies conducted 2014-2018 was 20.73 % (95 % CI: 0.66-40.80), while it was 14.68 % (95 % CI: 1.02-28.34) in studies conducted 2019-2024. On the other hand, subgroup analysis on diagnostic techniques showed significant differences in the pooled prevalence of malaria and coinfection.
This systematic review and meta-analysis showed that malaria and coinfection are prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa.This highlights the region's major challenges in controlling malaria and coinfections.To ensure the efficiency of coinfections control and treatment, regular monitoring, identification, and reduction of the prevalence of malaria and coinfection must be maintained. Furthermore, cooperative efforts at local, countrywide, and global levels are necessary to address the multifaceted factors causal to malaria- coinfection.
疟疾和血吸虫病是两种寄生虫病，在不同的热带气候中共有传播地点。疟疾-血吸虫病合并感染在非洲广泛存在。此外，疟疾和合并感染会加剧健康后果和共病情况。然而，关于撒哈拉以南非洲地区疟疾和合并感染患病率的汇总数据有限。
本系统评价和荟萃分析旨在评估撒哈拉以南非洲地区疟疾和合并感染的患病率。
按照综述和荟萃分析指南，在PubMed、Scopus、谷歌学术和科学Direct上进行系统检索，以识别相关研究。共确定了18篇关于疟疾和合并感染患病率的相关文章，用于最终的系统评价和荟萃分析。使用STATA软件17.0版本对提取的数据进行分析。使用Egger检验评估是否存在发表偏倚。通过I统计量检查各研究之间的异质性；如果I值≥50%，则认为存在显著异质性，并进行亚组分析。
本系统评价和荟萃分析共纳入18项研究。通过该荟萃分析，疟疾和合并感染的汇总患病率为17.39%（95%置信区间：5.94 - 28.84）。合并感染患病率存在显著异质性，在α = 0.00时，I值大于或等于99.97%。基于发表年份的亚组分析表明，2014 - 2018年进行的研究中，疟疾和合并感染的汇总患病率为20.73%（95%置信区间：0.66 - 40.80），而在2019 - 2024年进行的研究中为14.68%（95%置信区间：1.02 - 28.34）。另一方面，关于诊断技术的亚组分析显示，疟疾和合并感染的汇总患病率存在显著差异。
本系统评价和荟萃分析表明，疟疾和合并感染在撒哈拉以南非洲地区普遍存在。这凸显了该地区在控制疟疾和合并感染方面的主要挑战。为确保合并感染控制和治疗的有效性，必须持续定期监测、识别并降低疟疾和合并感染的患病率。此外，有必要在地方、全国和全球层面共同努力，以应对导致疟疾-合并感染的多方面因素。
