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Meta-Analysis
. 2020 Oct;114(7):360-369.
doi: 10.1080/20477724.2020.1813489. Epub 2020 Sep 10.

Epidemiology of tungiasis in sub-saharan Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Oluwasola O Obebe  1 , Olufemi O Aluko  2
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Epidemiology of tungiasis in sub-saharan Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Oluwasola O Obebe et al. Pathog Glob Health. 2020 Oct.

Abstract

Tungiasis is a public health disease in many rural and urban slums in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), primarily affecting children and the elderly. Yet, this disease has received little attention in many sub-Saharan African countries. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to estimate the pooled prevalence of tungiasis and associated risk factors in SSA. We searched AJOL, Google Scholar, Web of Science, and PubMed for population-based studies that reported the prevalence of tungiasis and risk factors in SSA between January 1980 and July 2020. The study employed a random-effects model and heterogeneity to estimate the pooled prevalence and evaluate the Cochran's Q-test respectively across studies that met the inclusion criteria. We screened 104 articles and retrieved 42 full-text articles to evaluate for inclusion in the review. Twenty-seven studies involving 16,303 individuals in seven SSA countries were analyzed. The pooled prevalence of tungiasis in SSA was 33.4% (95% CI: 27.6-39.8), while tungiasis prevalence was 46.5%, 44.9%, 42.0%, 37.2%, 28.1%, 22.7% and 20.1% for Ethiopia, Cameroon, Tanzania, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, and Uganda, respectively. The risk of tungiasis was associated with gender, participants' age groups (4-15 years and ≥60 years), earthen floor, non-regular use of footwear, contact with animals, and residence in rural areas. An integrated approach addressing significant factors in tungiasis prevalence in SSA needs to be designed and implemented by a trans-disciplinary composition of community leaders, health professionals, non-governmental institutions, and policymakers.

Keywords: Human; meta-analysis; pooled prevalence; sub-saharan Africa; tungiasis.

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Conflict of interest statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
PRISMA flow diagram of included studies in the systematic review and meta-analysis on the epidemiology of tungiasis in sub-saharan Africa.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Map showing eligible studies across SSA.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Forest plot of pooled prevalence of tungiasis in SSA [,–,,–38,45,46,52,58,60].
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Funnel plot of tungiasis in sub-saharan Africa. The figure displays the observed effect size of each study against the standard error of each study.
None
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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