Abstract
Cryptosporidium spp., as a genus of protozoan intestinal parasites, is recognized as responsible for cryptosporidiosis. The present study was conducted to provide an overview of the prevalence of Cryptosporidium based on water. In this regard, some databases such as Scopus, PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science were screened in order to retrieve the related citations from 1 January 1983 to 10 September 2019. The pooled prevalence of Cryptosporidium spp. was calculated by using a random effect model (REM) based on defined subgroups, including countries, water type, treatment conditions (treated and untreated), economic condition, World Health Organization (WHO) regions, and method of detection. In contrast, this index for treated and untreated water was 25.7% and 40.1%, respectively. Also, the overall prevalence of Cryptosporidium spp. among all water types was defined as 36 (95% CI: 31.4–40.7). The rank order of prevalence of Cryptosporidium spp. based on water type was wastewater (46.9%) > surface water (45.3%) > raw water (31.6%) > drinking water (25.5%) > reservoirs water (24.5%) > groundwater (18.8%) > swimming pool water (7.5%) > marine water (0.20%). Identifying the key contributing factors to Cryptosporidium spp. survival can help provide solutions at both local and global scales.
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The authors would like to thank the student research committee at Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences for the financial grants of this study (1397/68957).
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Search in databases was conducted by Fatemeh Sahlabadi, Hasti Daraei, and Van Nam Thai; screening of papers based on the title, abstract, and full text was conducted by Sahar Gholipour, Habibollah Turki, and Ali Moradi; data extraction was carried out by Hasti Daraei, Gea Oliveri Conti, and Margherita Ferrante. Meta-analysis of data was conducted by Yadolah Fakhri and Gea Oliveri Conti; preparing of the manuscript was conducted by Yadolah Fakhri, Gea Oliveri Conti, and Amin Mousavi Khaneghah. All authors approved the final manuscript.
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Daraei, H., Oliveri Conti, G., Sahlabadi, F. et al. Prevalence of Cryptosporidium spp. in water: a global systematic review and meta-analysis. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 9498–9507 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-11261-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-11261-6