Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2013 Jul 11;7(7):e2288.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0002288. Print 2013.

Strongyloides stercoralis: Global Distribution and Risk Factors

Fabian Schär  1 , Ulf Trostdorf, Federica Giardina, Virak Khieu, Sinuon Muth, Hanspeter Marti, Penelope Vounatsou, Peter Odermatt
Affiliations
Review

Strongyloides stercoralis: Global Distribution and Risk Factors

Fabian Schär et al. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. .

Abstract

Background: The soil-transmitted threadworm, Strongyloides stercoralis, is one of the most neglected among the so-called neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). We reviewed studies of the last 20 years on S. stercoralis's global prevalence in general populations and risk groups.

Methods/principal findings: A literature search was performed in PubMed for articles published between January 1989 and October 2011. Articles presenting information on infection prevalence were included. A Bayesian meta-analysis was carried out to obtain country-specific prevalence estimates and to compare disease odds ratios in different risk groups taking into account the sensitivities of the diagnostic methods applied. A total of 354 studies from 78 countries were included for the prevalence calculations, 194 (62.4%) were community-based studies, 121 (34.2%) were hospital-based studies and 39 (11.0%) were studies on refugees and immigrants. World maps with country data are provided. In numerous African, Asian and South-American resource-poor countries, information on S. stercoralis is lacking. The meta-analysis showed an association between HIV-infection/alcoholism and S. stercoralis infection (OR: 2.17 BCI: 1.18-4.01; OR: 6.69; BCI: 1.47-33.8), respectively.

Conclusions: Our findings show high infection prevalence rates in the general population in selected countries and geographical regions. S. stercoralis infection is prominent in several risk groups. Adequate information on the prevalence is still lacking from many countries. However, current information underscore that S. stercoralis must not be neglected. Further assessments in socio-economic and ecological settings are needed and integration into global helminth control is warranted.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. The life-cycle of S. stercoralis (based on http://www.dpd.cdc.gov/dpdx).
Figure 2
Figure 2. Flowchart of the literature review.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Number of studies undertaken per country since 1989, with geo-location if indicated; Thailand and Brazil displayed separately.
Figure 4
Figure 4. Prevalence of S. stercoralis infection by country based community-based studies.
Figure 5
Figure 5. Prevalence of S. stercoralis infection by country based on health services studies.
Figure 6
Figure 6. Prevalence of S. stercoralis in refugees and immigrants by country.
Figure 7
Figure 7. Risk of S. stercoralis infection in HIV/AIDS patients (meta-analysis of case-control studies).
Figure 8
Figure 8. Risk of S. stercoralis infection in patients with HTLV-1 infection (meta-analysis of case-control studies).
Figure 9
Figure 9. Risk of S. stercoralis infection in alcoholics (meta-analysis of case-control studies).
Figure 10
Figure 10. Risk of S. stercoralis infection in patients with diarrhea (meta-analysis of case-control studies).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Olsen A, van Lieshout L, Marti H, Polderman T, Polman K, et al. (2009) Strongyloidiasis–the most neglected of the neglected tropical diseases? Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg 103: 967–972. - PubMed
    1. Genta RM (1989) Global prevalence of strongyloidiasis: critical review with epidemiologic insights into the prevention of disseminated disease. Rev Infect Dis 11: 755–767. - PubMed
    1. Bethony J, Brooker S, Albonico M, Geiger SM, Loukas A, et al. (2006) Soil-transmitted helminth infections: ascariasis, trichuriasis, and hookworm. Lancet 367: 1521–1532. - PubMed
    1. Sato Y, Kobayashi J, Shiroma Y (1995) Serodiagnosis of strongyloidiasis. The application and significance. Rev Inst Med Trop Sao Paulo 37: 35–41. - PubMed
    1. Siddiqui AA, Berk SL (2001) Diagnosis of Strongyloides stercoralis infection. Clin Infect Dis 33: 1040–1047. - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources