Prevalence, probability, and characteristics of malaria and filariasis co-infections: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Background Malaria and filariasis are significant vector-borne diseases that are co-endemic in the same human populations. This study aims to collate the evidence, probability, and characteristics of malaria and filariasis co-infections in participants among studies reporting the co-occurrence of both diseases. Methods We searched for potentially relevant articles reporting the co-occurrence of malaria and filariasis in five electronic databases (Embase, PubMed, Scopus, Medline, and CENTRAL) from inception to May 22, 2022. We estimated the pooled prevalence and probability of malaria and filariasis co-infections among study participants using random-effects meta-analyses and synthesized the characteristics of patients with co-infections narratively. Results We identified 951 articles, 24 of which (96,838 participants) met eligibility criteria and were included in the systematic review. Results of the meta-analysis showed a pooled prevalence of malaria and filariasis co-infections among participants of 11%. The prevalence of co-infections was 2.3% in Africa, 0.2% in Asia, and 1.6% in South America. The pooled prevalences of malaria and Wuchereria bancrofti, malaria and Loa loa, malaria and Mansonella perstans co-infections were 0.7%, 1.2%, and 1.0%, respectively. The meta-analysis results showed that the co-infections between two parasites occurred by probability (P = 0.001). Patients with co-infections were at increased risk of having an enlarged spleen, a lower rate of severe anemia, lower parasite density, and more asymptomatic clinical status. Patients with co-infections had decreased levels of C-X-C motif chemokine 5, tumor necrosis factor–α, interleukin-4, c4 complement, and interleukin-10. In addition, patients with co-infections had a lower interleukin-10/tumor necrosis factor–α ratio and higher interleukin-10/interleukin-6 ratio. Conclusion The present study showed that the prevalence of malaria and filariasis co-infections was low and varied between geographical areas in the selected articles. Co-infections tended to occur with a low probability. Further studies investigating the outcomes and characteristics of co-infections are needed.

Upaya Pendampingan Pasca Survei Evaluasi Pre-Tas dalam Program Pengendalian Infeksi Filariasis di Wilayah Desa Sentinel Koya Tengah Kota Jayapura

“…Infeksi filariasis merupakan penyakit yang disebabkan oleh cacing filaria yaitu dari spesies Wuchereria bancrofti, Brugia malayi dan Brugia timori ketiga jenis cacing ini menyebabkan filaria limfatik (Wilairatana et al, 2022). Limfatik filariasis ditularkan oleh nyamuk dan hamper semua genus nyamuk dapat berperan sebagai vektor penyakit ini seperti Genus Mansonia, Culex, Aedes, Anopheles dan Armigeres (Widawati et al, 2022).…”

How many labels do I need? Self-supervised learning strategies for multiple blood parasites classification in microscopy images

“…The majority of methods exhibit this targeted approach, particularly in the context of malaria [3]- [6], while few methods address diseases like Chagas or leishmania [7]- [9], and none for filariasis. The absence of a universal method to detect any blood parasite in a given sample is a significant limitation, particularly in areas with coinfection [10], [11].…”

Very low prevalence of Mansonella perstans-specific cell-free DNA in serum samples of Ghanaian HIV patients

“…Little is known about epidemiological associations of mansonellosis and other infectious diseases in endemicity settings as well as about potential interactions with co-infections. In a recent assessment, co-infections of filarial infections and malaria were only rarely observed [ 20 ]. In central African regions of co-endemicity, however, co-infections with Loa loa and Mansonella spp.…”