Echinococcus granulosus genotypes in Iran: a systematic review.

Cystic echinococcosis (CE) caused by Echinococcus granulosus sensu lato (s.l.) is a significant zoonosis, especially in developing countries of the Middle East, with many studies focusing on CE genotypes in Iran. We performed a systematic review to determine the exact status of E. granulosus genotypes in the country. We explored English (Pubmed, Scopus, ISI Web of Science and Science Direct) and Persian (Magiran, Iran Medex and Scientific Information Database) databases along with Google Scholar. Our review included 73 studies published prior to the end of 2015. In total, 2952 animal (intermediate and definitive) hosts were examined, and the prevalent genotypes comprised G1 (92.75%) and G6 (4.53%) in sheep, cattle, camels, goats and buffaloes; G3 (2.43%) in five herbivore hosts and dogs; G7 (0.2%) in sheep and goats; and G2 (0.06%) in dogs. G1 was mostly dominant in West Azerbaijan, whereas G3 and G6 were identified most frequently in the provinces of Isfahan and Fars, respectively. Regarding human CE infection, 340 cases were reported from Iran, with the identified genotypes G1 (n = 320), G6 (n = 13) and G3 (n = 7). Most CE-infected humans originated from Isfahan province (168 cases), whereas the lowest number of infected persons was noted in Kerman province (two cases). The information obtained from this systematic review is central to better understanding the biological and epidemiological characteristics of E. granulosus s.l. genotypes in Iran, leading to more comprehensive control strategies.

Prevalence of cystic echinococcosis in Iran: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

As a significant zoonosis, cystic echinococcosis (CE) is endemic in some parts of the world, such as the Middle East. There are studies on the prevalence of this infection in animal and human reservoirs in Iran; hence, we conducted this meta-analysis to elucidate the prevalence of CE in Iran. English (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Science Direct and Google Scholar) and Persian (Magiran, Iran Medex, Iran Doc and SID) databases were explored. In the case of definitive, animal and human intermediate hosts, 37, 90 and 33 studies, respectively, have been included in the current review from January 1990 to December 2015. According to outcomes of the heterogeneity test, either Der Simonian and Laird's random-effects method or Mantel-Haenszel's fixed-effects method were employed to pool the estimations. The pooled prevalence of Echinococcus granulosus infection in definitive hosts was calculated as 23.6% (95% confidence interval (CI) = 17.6-30.1%). The weighted prevalence of animal and human hydatidosis was calculated as 15.6% (95% CI = 14.2-17.1%) and 4.2% (95% CI = 3.0-5.5%), respectively. Meanwhile, most cases of human hydatidosis were in southern Iran, with a prevalence of 5.8% (3.2-9.2%). In terms of human hydatidosis, more infections were found in rural regions, and mostly in female individuals. Egger's regression test revealed publication bias, with a remarkable impact on total prevalence of the infection in animal intermediate hosts (P < 0.001), while it was not significant in human hosts (P = 0.4) and definitive hosts (P = 0.3). According to the weighted estimated prevalence of cystic echinococcosis and its financial burden, implementing appropriate control programmes should be compulsory to decrease the burden of the disease in Iran.