The inclusion criteria were: Subjects:Women that are pregnant at any stage of pregnancy or labour, including the puerperium (up to 42 days after labour); Study location:Low- and middle-income countries (while defined from the World Bank in 2010 2010); Study design and sampling methods:No restrictions applied; Data collection:Only studies that provided evidence of parasitic illness using microbiological or serological test results were included; Results:Papers were selected if they offered information on the burden of a particular pathogen (the prevalence of a particular infection in pregnant women in the community over time/incidence) and/or the aetiology of parasitical maternal infections (prevalence of a specific pathogen/illness). == Quality criteria == Papers were required to describe their samples and methods in detail, and provide Helicid microbiological or serological evidence of the aetiology of illness. == Data extraction == Info on pathogen studied, sample population (pregnant women studied during pregnancy or at labour) and size, study setting, duration and type, microbiological/serological test used and results were extracted from abstracts and full papers for analysis. == Data analysis == Epidemiology and aetiology of maternal parasitic infections were summarized according to the pathogen studied. criteria for exclusion of inadequate studies recognized 115 out of initial 8580 titles. The data were extracted for 5 domains: worldwide pathogen prevalence, 12 months of study, study setting, sample size and diagnostic test for each pathogen. == Results == The initial search retrieved 8580 results. From these titles, 43 studies on malaria, 12 studies on helminths, 49 studies onToxoplasma gondii, 7 studies on Chagas disease, 5 studies onTrichomonas, 1 leishmaniasis study and 1 study on trichinellosis were extracted for analysis. Large prevalence of malaria was found in Gabon (up to 57%) India (55%), Cameroon (50%), Yemen (55%), Nigeria (up to 64%) and Ghana (54%). Large prevalence of hookworm infections was found in Nepal at 78.8% and high values ofAscaris lumbricoideswere found in Nepal, (56.2%), Kenya (52.3%) and Gabon (45.5%). Large levels ofSchistosoma mansoniwere found in Zimbabwe (50%) and Tanzania (63.5%). The prevalence of activeToxoplasma gondiiinfection was found to be highest in India (27.7%). == Summary == This study highlights the large burden of maternal parasitic infections globally. It may serve as a useful starting point for health policy development and study prioritization in this area. With 5 years to visit until 2015 and the end of the period to accomplish Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) focuses on, it is debatable how many of the MDGs will reach the seeks defined in 2000. MDG 5 seeks to: Reduce by three quarters the maternal mortality percentage (1). However, between 1990 and 2005, in Sub-Saharan Africa especially, little progress had been made and in some countries the numbers have even improved (1). In 1990, the Democratic Republic of Congo experienced a maternal mortality percentage (MMR) of 870 per 100 000 and by 2005 it experienced increased to 1100 per 100 000 (1). In addition, in Tanzania, which is a more stable sub-Saharan African country, the MMR also improved from 770 per 100 000 in 1990 to 970 per 100 000 (1). In the recent review of the MDGs in 2010 2010, the UN managed to secure US$ 40 billion ( 30 billion) for womens and childrens health only (2). Maternal deaths are due to many causes including haemorrhage, hypertensive disorders, abortion related complications, infections and sepsis (3). Maternal infections contribute to about 10%-20% of these deaths (3). It is therefore imperative that there is up to date study on these topics. So far, there have been no systematic evaluations of the data. This review seeks to summarise the research that has been carried out in the past 30 years. It will look at the global distribution of study and the year in which the study was carried out. It will also look at how this study was carried out, where the study was carried out, how many subjects were included in papers and what microbiological diagnostic methods were used. Finally the paper will set out an up-to-date picture of the prevalence of parasitic infections in the developing world over the last 30 years. Rabbit Polyclonal to SMC1 (phospho-Ser957) == METHODS == == Literature search terms == Initial searches were conducted to Helicid identify appropriate keywords and MeSH headings to use in the final search (Table 1). The search strategy was prepared with an input from a librarian. Searches were carried out in parallel by two reviewers (using OVID) in the following databases on 1 August 2010: Medline (1950 to August Week 4 2010); EMBASE (1980 to 2010 Week 30) and Global Health (1973 to August 2010). == Table 1. == Search terms used to identify published articles within the prevalence and aetiology of maternal infections in the developing world == Study inclusion and exclusion criteria == Studies were screened by title and then by abstract for relevance. Studies were deemed relevant if they offered information within the aetiology or epidemiology of parasitic infections in pregnant women in developing countries. These studies were then grouped relating to pathogen analyzed, with some studies providing info on multiple pathogens. Studies providing info within the epidemiology of bacterial or viral infections in pregnant women were recognized but not analyzed, as they were addressed in a separate review. Relevant English language papers were analyzed with this work, along with Chinese electronic databases, with the intention of translating and analyzing non-English papers, too. Helicid The inclusion criteria were: Subjects:Pregnant women at any stage of pregnancy or labour, including the puerperium (up to 42 days after labour); Study location:Low- and middle-income countries (as defined by the World Bank in 2010 2010); Study design and sampling methods:No restrictions applied; Data collection:Only studies that offered evidence of parasitic illness using microbiological or serological test results were included; Results:Papers were selected if they offered information on the burden of a particular pathogen (the prevalence of a particular infection in pregnant women in the community over time/incidence) and/or the aetiology of parasitical maternal infections.
