Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Parasitic infections are considered a major
public health problem due to their associated morbimortality and negative impact on physical and intellectual development, especially in the at-
risk pediatric group. Periodic prophylactic
administration of
antiparasitic agents against
soil -transmitted
helminths is recommended by the
World Health Organization (
WHO ) to control
parasitic infections and
disease burden . We aimed to evaluate the
prevalence of intestinal
parasitic infections in
Brazil .
METHODS: We performed a
systematic review by searching the
literature found in the
PubMed ,
LILACS , and SciELO databases, followed by a
meta-analysis of the proportions from studies published in English, Portuguese, and/or Spanish from January 2000 to May 2018. This
systematic review was registered in the PROSPERO database (CRD42018096214).
RESULTS: The
prevalence of intestinal
parasitic infections (protozoa and/or
helminths ) in
Brazil was 46% (
confidence interval 39-54%), with 99% heterogeneity.
Prevalence varied by region 37%, 51%, 50%, 58%, and 41% in the Southeast, South, Northeast, North, and Central-West regions, respectively. Most studies (32/40) evaluated
children (<18 years) and found an average
prevalence of 51%.
Children also had the highest
prevalence in all four regions Central-West (65%), South (65%), North (58%), Northeast (53%), and Southeast (37%). However, most studies evaluated specific
populations , which may have created
selection bias . Presumably, this
review of intestinal
parasitic diseases in
Brazil includes the most studies and the largest
population ever considered. CONCLUSIONS The
prevalence of intestinal
parasitic infections is high in
Brazil , and
anthelmintic drugs should be administered periodically as a prophylactic
measure , as recommended by the
WHO .