Background Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is one of the serious developmental disorders that is usually diagnosed below the age of three years. Although the severity of the disease’s symptoms varies from patient to patient, the ability to communicate with others is affected in all forms of ASD. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of ASD in high-risk groups by continent. Methods The present study was conducted by systematic review and meta-analysis from 2008 to July 2021. Databases such as Science Direct, PubMed, Scopus, SID, Magiran, Web of Science (WoS), and Google Scholar from 2008 to July 2021 were searched to find related studies. Data were analysed using Comprehensive Meta-Analysis software (Version 2). Results A total of 74 studies with 30,212,757 participants were included in this study. The prevalence of ASD in the world was 0.6% (95% confidence interval: 0.4–1%). Subgroup analyses indicated that the prevalence of ASD in Asia, America, Europe, Africa and Australia was 0.4% (95% CI: 0.1–1), 1% (95% CI: 0.8–1.1), 0.5% (95% CI: 0.2–1), 1% (95% CI: 0.3–3.1), 1.7% (95% CI: 0.5–6.1) respectively. Conclusion ASD imposes a heavy health burden on communities around the world. Early detection of ASD can reduce the incidence of developmental disorders and improve patients’ communication skills. Therefore, health policymakers need to be aware of the prevalence and increasing trend of ASD to implement appropriate planning and interventions to reduce its consequences.

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Rotavirus is the major etiologic factor of severe diarrheal disease. Natural infection provides protection against subsequent rotavirus infection and diarrhea. This research presents a new vaccine designed based on computational models. In this study, three types of epitopes are considered-linear, conformational, and combinational-in a proposed model protein. Several studies on rotavirus vaccines have shown that VP6 and VP4 proteins are good candidates for vaccine production. In the present study, a fusion protein was designed as a new generation of rotavirus vaccines by bioinformatics analyses. This model-based study using ABCpred, BCPREDS, Bcepred, and Ellipro web servers showed that the peptide presented in this article has the necessary properties to act as a vaccine. Prediction of linear B-cell epitopes of peptides is helpful to investigate whether these peptides are able to activate humoral immunity.

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