Table 2. Pooled prevalence of intestinal protozoan infections in different subgroups.
| Subgroups | Prevalence [95% CIs] (%) | Number of studies analysed | Total number of subjects | Heterogeneity | Publication Bias, Egger’s test (p-value) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I 2 | p-value | ||||||
| Children enrolment time | |||||||
| Year 2005–2010 | 19.4 [12.5–26.4] | 9 | 3,168 | 99% | <0.0001 | NA | |
| Year 2011–2015 | 23.5 [9.3–37.7] | 10 | 4,107 | 99% | <0.0001 | 0.45 | |
| Year 2016–2020 | 25.2 [6.9–43.4] | 9 | 3,314 | 100% | <0.0001 | NA | |
| Different regions of Africa | |||||||
| Northern Africa | 40.2 [22.7–57.6] | 4 | 844 | 97% | <0.0001 | NA | |
| Eastern Africa | 21.9 [17.0–26.8] | 23 | 15,906 | 99% | <0.0001 | 0.02 | |
| Central Africa | 21.5 [10.1–32.8] | 4 | 1,412 | 97% | <0.0001 | NA | |
| Western Africa | 32.3 [15.1–49.5] | 11 | 5,873 | 100% | <0.0001 | 0.20 | |
| Southern Africa | 18.6 [14.5–22.8] | 4 | 5,933 | 92% | <0.0001 | NA | |
| Countries | |||||||
| Ethiopia | 15.3 [11.7–19.0] | 17 | 13,975 | 99% | <0.0001 | <0.0001 | |
| Nigeria | 24.3 [10.7–37.8] | 6 | 2,599 | 99% | <0.0001 | NA | |
| South Africa | 15.6 [13.3–17.9] | 3 | 5,666 | 77% | 0.01 | NA | |
| Angola | 13.7 [1.2–26.2] | 2 | 558 | 95% | <0.0001 | NA | |
| Ghana | 6.3 [0.0–15.2] | 2 | 850 | 96% | <0.0001 | NA | |
| Kenya | 36. 5 [27.9–45.1] | 2 | 276 | 52% | 0.14 | NA | |
| Egypt | 25.5 [13.2–37.7] | 2 | 564 | 91% | <0.0001 | NA | |
| Burkina Faso | 84.7 [81.1–88.3] | 1 | 385 | NA | NA | NA | |
| DR Congo | 30.1 [26.4–33.7] | 1 | 602 | NA | NA | NA | |
| Eritrea | 38.2 [33.7–42.7] | 1 | 450 | NA | NA | NA | |
| Mauritania | 31.0 [28.5–33.5] | 1 | 1308 | NA | NA | NA | |
| Morocco | 57.7 [49.0–66.5] | 1 | 123 | NA | NA | NA | |
| Rwanda | 35.7 [31.9–39.5] | 1 | 622 | NA | NA | NA | |
| Sao Tome Principe | 28.6 [23.0–34.1] | 1 | 252 | NA | NA | NA | |
| Senegal | 80.4 [77.6–83.3] | 1 | 731 | NA | NA | NA | |
| Sudan | 52.9 [45.1–60.7] | 1 | 157 | NA | NA | NA | |
| Swaziland | 32.2 [26.6–37.8] | 1 | 267 | NA | NA | NA | |
| Uganda | 87.0 [82.9–91.1] | 1 | 254 | NA | NA | NA | |
| Zambia | 10.0 [6.8–13.3] | 1 | 329 | NA | NA | NA | |
| Different diagnostic methods | |||||||
| Microscopy | 22.7 [18.8–26.6] | 40 | 26,489 | 99% | <0.0001 | <0.0001 | |
| PCR or qPCR | 61.4 [35.3–87.4] | 4 | 1,703 | 99% | <0.0001 | NA | |
| Rapid diagnostic kit | 14.5 [12.6–16.3] | 4 | 1,776 | 21% | 0.16 | NA | |
| Different species | |||||||
| Giardia spp. | 12.0 [9.8–14.3] | 38 | 26,565 | 99% | <0.0001 | 0.0003 | |
| E. histolytica/ dispar | 13.3 [10.7–15.9] | 33 | 13,235 | 99% | <0.0001 | <0.0001 | |
| Entamoeba coli | 17.1 [10.9–23.2] | 9 | 3,788 | 97% | <0.0001 | NA | |
| Cryptosporidium spp. | 2.5 [1.8–3.2] | 3 | 2,076 | 3% | 0.35 | NA | |
CIs: Confidence intervals; NA: Not applicable.