The Strongyloides stercoralis-hookworms association as a path to the estimation of the global burden of strongyloidiasis. A systematic review

FLEITAS PE; TRAVACIO M; MARTÍ-SOLER H; SOCÍAS ME; LOPEZ WR; KROLEWIECKI AJ

Virtual

Congreso; 2020 ASTMH Annual Meeting; 2020

American Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene

Soil-transmitted helminths (STH) represent a significant public health problem. However, until 2020 Strongyloides stercoralis was not integrated into the control strategy against STH, given limitations to accurately assess its burden. Considering that S. stercoralis shares biological and epidemiological characteristics with hookworms, we describe a new approach for an improved estimation of the burden of infections by S. stercoralis based on the prevalence and burden of hookworms and the relationship between these species. A systematic review of publications, between 2001 and June 2018, reporting prevalence rates for S. stercoralis and hookworms was carried out. The data was classified into two categories: 1) ?Community?, with surveys including all age groups, and 2) ?SAC?, with surveys limited to school-aged children. The relationship between S. stercoralis and hookworms was characterized in order to estimate the global burden of S. stercoralis infections. The study is registered in PROSPERO (CRD42019131127). Spearman correlation coefficient between S. stercoralis and hookworms was estimated and the global burden of S. stercoralis infections was estimated using a regression model. A total of 119 articles were included, and a significant positive correlation between the burden of S. stercoralis and hookworms was identified. Spearman?s coefficient for Community surveys was 0.94 and for SAC surveys it was 0.63. Regression models were performed for both population groups with and without a quadratic term for hookworm prevalence and adjusting for diagnostic sensitivity (High-S and Low-S) and WHO region. For both populations, the model was superior using High-S surveys than all surveys. Based on a linear model, the global burden of S. stercoralis infections was estimated at 386 million (95%CI 324 - 449 million) people, including 22 million (95%CI 20 - 24 million) SAC. In conclusion, the significant relationship between S. stercoralis and hookworms allows estimating the global burden of S. stercoralis infections in most epidemiologic settings using hookworm burden and justifies the search of integrated control activities.