Seroepidemiology of Strongyloides stercoralis amongst immunocompromised patients in Southwest Iran

Abstract

Strongyloidiasis is a life-threatening parasitic infection, especially in immunosuppressed patients, with death often occurring within several days. The disease has a worldwide distribution and is endemic in tropical and subtropical regions. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate seroepidemiology of Strongyloides infection amongst immunocompromised patients in Southwest Iran. This cross-sectional study was conducted amongst a population of immunocompromised patients who were referred to health care or hospital referral centres in Ahvaz, Southwest Iran. Serum samples were tested by an enzyme immunoassay for anti-IgG Strongyloides antibody. Anti-Strongyloides stercoralis antibody was detected in 39 of 270 immunocommpromised cases, yielding a prevalence of 14.4%. No significant differences were indicated in terms of gender, age, or type of immunocompromised disorder with anti-Strongyloides stercoralis antibody levels. In conclusion, our results demonstrated high seroepidemiology of infection with this parasite in the region. Therefore, it appears immunocompromised patients should be tested for this infection using sensitive tests. However, current research underscores that strongyloidosis must not be neglected, and further assessments in high risk population are warranted.

Prevalence and Associated Risk Factors of Strongyloides sp. Infection in Diabetic Patients in the Central Part of Mazandaran, Northern Iran

“…This work found that the seroprevalence of this infection was not significantly higher in cases living in rural areas compared with those living in urban settings. Also, no significant difference was observed between S. stercoralis infection and age groups, gender and other demographic data, which agrees with some previous studies (15,17). It was also observed that homemaker and farmers are at risk of strongyloidiasis more than other occupations (Table 1) which is in agreement with published data (20,21).…”

Screening of Strongyloides stercoralis Infection in High-Risk Patients in Khuzestan Province, Southwestern Iran

“…This cross-sectional study was designed to evaluate prevalence of S. stercoralis among patients referred to 17 Shahrivar (Abadan) and Shahid Baghaee (Ahvaz) hospitals from June 2019 to March 2020. The selected counties were chosen based on previous studies [10,17] and hospitals reports. The sample size was determined using previous study with a prevalence rate of 14.4% and con dence interval of 95% [10].…”

“…The selected counties were chosen based on previous studies [10,17] and hospitals reports. The sample size was determined using previous study with a prevalence rate of 14.4% and con dence interval of 95% [10]. The calculated sample size was 296 patients, thus 300 patients enrolled in the study.…”

“…Iran, one of the tropical and subtropical regions, is an endemic area for S. stercoralis; however, most reports belong to northern and southern parts of the country [10,11,12]. In a study conducted by Ra ei et al in 2016, the seroprevalence of S. stercoralis was reported 14.4% in immunocompromised patients from southwestern Iran [10]. Since many strongyloidiasis cases are asymptomatic and conventional parasitological examinations are not su ciently sensitive, S. stercoralis infection is frequently underdiagnosed [8].…”

“…However, the potential of uncontrolled multiplication and life-threatening dissemination of S. stercoralis larvae in immunocompromised patients can lead to mortality rates to 85% [13]. Despite the importance of early detection of S. stercoralis in immunocompromised patients, very few studies have investigated strongyloidiasis in high risk groups, particularly patients who receive immunosuppressive drugs in Iran [10,14,15,16]. In addition, available data on strongyloidiasis in Iranian high-risk patients is limited to the few studies conducted with only one or two diagnostic methods.…”