| Objective: To examine all evidence about Microsporidia infection in vertebrate/
invertebrate hosts and Iranian populations distributed in different regions of the country.
Methods: All published articles up to December 2015, including descriptive and crosssectional
studies related to the prevalence and genotyping of Microsporidia infection in
Iran, was considered in this systematic review. The meta-analysis was done using the
random-effects model and Stats Direct statistical software. MEGA 5.05 software and
maximum likelihood algorithm with Kimura 2-parameter model were used for phylogenetic
analysis.
Results: Of the 1152 investigated studies, 33 eligible studies reported a prevalence of
Microsporidia infection in vertebrate and invertebrate hosts. According to this systematic
review, the overall prevalence rate of Microsporidia infection in immunocompromised
patients in Iran was 8.18%. Furthermore, the overall prevalence rate of Microsporidia
infection in immunocompromised patients with chronic diarrhoea, patients with nondiarrhoea,
gastroenteritis, and patients with CD4 (<200 cells/mL) was 15.4%, 4.1%,
0.5%, and 12.9% respectively. The highest prevalence rate of human and animal
Microsporidia was estimated in Kerman (29%) and Khuzestan (26.5%). The overall
prevalence rate of Microsporidia infection in honeybees using the random-effects model
was 40%. Furthermore, the highest prevalence rate of nosemosis was described in East
Azerbaijan (48.2%). The most Microsporidia isolates from immunocompromised patients
and pigeons in Iran belonged to genotypes D (n = 16; 50%) and E (n = 6; 20.6%) of
Enterocytozoon bieneusi.
Conclusions: This study may be the first systematic review and meta-analysis that
provides a broad outlook on the prevalence of microsporidiosis in Iran. It is necessary to
investigate Microsporidia infection in vertebrate and invertebrate hosts and environmental
resources in Iran. |