Spatial Distribution of Common Pathogenic Human Intestinal Protozoa in Iran: A Systematic Review

Background: pathogenic intestinal protozoa are considered as a serious public health problem in developing countries. this study aimed to elucidate the overall prevalence and spatial distribution of three common human pathogenic intestinal protozoan infections in iran. methods: six english and persian databases were explored for published papers on the prevalence of entamoeba histolytica/dispar, giardia lamblia, and cryptosporidium spp. in the general population of iran from 2000 to 2015. all eligible data were collected using a pre-designed data extraction form, and the overall prevalence was estimated using a random-effects meta-analysis model. we used arcmap for mapping the prevalence of the studied protozoa and clustering analysis. results: altogether, 118 eligible papers from 24 provinces of iran were included and analyzed. the weighted prevalence of e. histolytica/dispar, g. lamblia, and cryptosporidium spp. infection among iranian general population were calculated 1.3% (95% ci 1.1-1.5%), 10.6% (95% ci 9.6-11.5%) and 2% (95% ci 1.5-2.5%), respectively. conclusion: our findings indicated human intestinal protozoan infections caused by e. histolytica/dispar, g. lamblia, and cryptosporidium spp. have still public health importance in some parts of iran.