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Background Ascariasis is one of the most important neglected tropical diseases of humans worldwide. The epidemiology of Ascaris infection appears to have changed with improvements in sanitation and mass drug administration, but there is no recent information on prevalence worldwide. Here, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the global prevalence of human Ascaris infection from 2010 to 2021. Methods We searched MEDLINE/PubMed, and Scopus databases for studies measuring prevalence of Ascaris infection, published between 1 January 2010 and 1 January 2022. We included studies of the general human population in endemic regions, which used accepted coprodiagnostic methods, and excluded studies of people with occupations with an increased risk or probability of ascariasis and/or specific diseases other than ascariasis. We applied random-effects models to obtain pooled prevalence estimates for six sustainable development goal regions of the world. We extrapolated the prevalence estimates to the global population in 2020, to estimate the number of individuals with Ascaris infection. We conducted multiple subgroup and meta-regression analyses to explore possible sources of heterogeneity, and to assess relationships between prevalence estimates and demographic, socio-economic, geo-climatic factors. Results Of 11,245 studies screened, we analysed 758 prevalence estimates for a total number of 4,923,876 participants in 616 studies from 81 countries. The global prevalence estimated was 11.01% (95% confidence interval: 10.27–11.78%), with regional prevalences ranging from 28.77% (7.07–57.66%) in Melanesia (Oceania) to 1.39% (1.07–1.74%) in Eastern Asia. We estimated that ~ 732 (682–782) million people harboured Ascaris worldwide in 2021. The infected people in Latin America and the Caribbean region had a higher prevalence of high intensity infection (8.4%, 3.9–14.1%). Prevalence estimates were higher in children, and people in rural communities or in countries or regions with lower income and human development indices. There was a trend for a higher prevalence in regions with increasing mean annual relative humidity, precipitation and environmental temperature. Conclusions Our findings indicate that, despite a renewed commitment by some communities or authorities to control ascariasis, a substantial portion of the world’s human population (> 0.7 billion) is infected with Ascaris. Despite the clinical and socioeconomic importance of ascariasis, many past routine surveys did not assess the intensity of Ascaris infection in people. We propose that the present findings might stimulate the development of customised strategies for the improved control and prevention of Ascaris infection worldwide.

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Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the causative agent of cervical cancer and a suspected agent for ovarian and endometrial cancers in women. It is associated with adverse outcomes during pregnancy. To date, there is no estimate of the prevalence of HPV infection in pregnant women at the regional and global levels. This study evaluated the global prevalence of HPV infection based on all observational studies that had reported the prevalence of HPV among pregnant women between January 1980 and December 2021 in PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science, Embase, and SciELO databases. We utilised a random-effect model to determine the global prevalence and related risk factors of HPV infection. Between-studies heterogeneity was assessed using I 2 statistic. Moreover, subgroup and meta-regression analyses were employed to assess the source of heterogeneity and the relationship between HPV prevalence and socio-demographic factors, respectively. Among 144 eligible studies comprising 189 datasets, the overall prevalence rates of HPV at the 95% confidence interval (CI) were estimated as 30.38% (26.88%-33.99%), 17.81% (9.81%-27.46%), 32.1% (25.09%-39.67%), 2.26% (0.1%-8.08%) and 25.5% (23.3%-27.8%) in cervico-vaginal, placenta, serum, amniotic fluid and urine samples, respectively. The highest prevalence rates were estimated for countries in the African region, while countries in the European and Eastern Mediterranean regions showed the lowest prevalence rates. HPV-16 and -18 were the most prevalent isolated strains. The pregnant women living with HIV and those with pregnancy disorders had significantly higher prevalence rates than general pregnant women (p < 0.05). The younger ages for first intercourse and pregnancy, multiple lifetime sexual partners, and lower education levels were primary risk factors for HPV infection. In conclusion, although the overall HPV prevalence varied markedly based on sampling sites and geographical locations, the highest prevalence rates were observed in less-developed countries. Our findings imply that implementing