Prevalence of Schistosoma mansoni infection among children in Ethiopia: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract Background Schistosomiasis is a neglected tropical disease caused by mainly Schistosoma mansoni and Schistosoma hematobium. The disease is very common in Africa including Ethiopia. Schistosoma mansoni is a major public health problem in Ethiopia especially among children. This review is aimed to indicate the prevalence of Schistosoma mansoni among children at national and regional level. Methods and material: The PRISMA guidelines were followed. Electronic search of PubMed, Google Scholar, Web of Science, Scopus, MEDLINE and Google search were carried out using key terms. Articles published from the proceeding of professional associations such as Ethiopian medical laboratory association, Ethiopian public health association and annual national research conferences were searched to find eligible studies. Data was extracted independently by two investigators, and pooled using a random effects model. Data was extracted using Microsoft excel and final analyzed using STATA version 12. Quality of included studies was assessed using JBI quality assessment criteria. Result Over all 41 studies involving 15968 children were included in this meta-analysis. The pooled prevalence of Schistosoma mansoni infection was 37.75% (95%CI:29.97–45.53). High heterogeneity was observed with I2 of 99.3%, p = 0.000. According to subgroup analysis, the pooled prevalence was high in SNNPR (46.27%: 95%CI: 21.77–70.77) followed by Amhara region (41.9%: 95%CI: 28.45–54.54) Tigray region (38.14%: 95%CI:24.22–52.05) and Oromia region (26.54%: 95%CI: 16.89–36.20). Year from 2011 to 2015 contribute for the highest prevalence of Schistosoma mansoni among children (44.46% (95%:30.88–58.03). Conclusion This study revealed 37.75% Schistosoma mansoni infection among children. High prevalence of schistosomes among children highlights the importance of improving and implementing appropriate control strategies such as mass drug administration in Ethiopia.