The Prevalence of some Intestinal Parasites in Food-Handlers of Asian and African Countries: A Meta-Analysis

Background & Aims of the Study: Parasitic infections are common in manycountries, especially in developing countries and tropical areas. People who dealwith foods can be a threat to health of communities. This meta-analysis study wasundertaken to determine the prevalence of parasitic infections, such as Ascarislumbricoides, Entamoeba coli, Entamoeba histolytica, and Giardia lamblia,among the food staff in Asian and African countries.Materials & Methods: We systematically searched Pubmed, Embase, Cochranelibrary, Proquest, Scopus, and Springer databases. In this meta-analysis, only thecross-sectional studies conducted from 1970 to October 2013 were selected. Aftersearching by the main keywords, 23 papers were found that after applying theinclusion criteria, 11 articles remained. I2 and T2 coefficients were used to findheterogeneity in the studies. Then, random effect model was applied for dataanalysis by Stata-12 software.Results: The pooled effect size, T2, and I2 for E. coli were 0.041 (CI 95%: 0.009-0.073), 0.004, and 88.9%, respectively. For A. lumbricoides, the pooled effect sizewas 0.017 (CI 95%: 0.012-0.022), T2 was 0.002, and I2 was 87.2%. Thesemeasures were respectively obtained as 0.026 (CI95%: 0.014-0.038), 0.003, and88.5% for E. histolytica. Ultimately, the pooled effect size, T2, and I2 for G.lamblia were 0.033 (CI 95%: 0.022-0.044), 0.004, and 85.7%, respectively.Conclusions: The prevalence rate of some intestinal parasites was relatively lowin the food-handlers in Asian and African countries compared to the previousstudies. Also, high heterogeneity was obtained regarding the prevalence rate inthese countries.

Keywords:

Meta-analysisIntestinal parasitesFood-handler