ArticlePLoS neglected tropical diseases2016
Prevalence and Risk Factors for Intestinal Protozoan Infections with Cryptosporidium, Giardia, Blastocystis and Dientamoeba among Schoolchildren in Tripoli, Lebanon.
Article in PLoS neglected tropical diseases, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 97 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
97 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 180 citations in OpenAlex.
- Prevalence and risk factors of intestinal protozoal infections among patients in Malaysia: A systematic review and meta-analysis.PloS one · 2025Pooled it
- Prevalence and Associated Risk Factors of Intestinal Parasites and Enteric Bacterial Infections among Selected Region Food Handlers of Ethiopia during 2014-2022: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.TheScientificWorldJournal · 2022Pooled it
- Does Dientamoeba fragilis cause diarrhea? A systematic review.Parasitology research · 2018Pooled it
- The triple threat of Cryptosporidium, Giardia, and Entamoeba infections in Nigerian children.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Article
- Socio-environmental maps as tools to characterize the risk of parasitosis in the horticultural peri-urban area of La Plata, Argentina.Journal of parasitic diseases : official organ of the Indian Society for Parasitology · 2025Article
- Epidemiological Characteristics of Intestinal Protozoal Infections and Their Risk Factors in Malaysia: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocol.JMIR research protocols · 2025Article
- Waterborne protozoan and microsporidian parasites in Eurasian beavers (International journal for parasitology. Parasites and wildlife · 2025Article
- Review
- The burden and trend of intestinal parasitosis among women at Berekum, Ghana: a 9-year retrospective study.BMC infectious diseases · 2024Article
- Unveiling Blastocystis epidemiology in Morocco: subtype diversity among clinical patients with and without gastrointestinal manifestations in the Meknes region.Parasitology research · 2024Article
- Gastrointestinal parasitic infections: Prevalence and risk factors in West Ismailia, Arab Republic of Egypt.Gut pathogens · 2024Article
- Enteric parasites Cyclospora cayetanensis and Cryptosporidium hominis in domestic and wildlife animals in Ghana.Parasites & vectors · 2024Article
- Article
- Enhancing enteric pathogen detection: implementation and impact of multiplex PCR for improved diagnosis and surveillance.BMC infectious diseases · 2024Article
- Diversity and composition of gut protist in young rural Zimbabwean children.Frontiers in microbiomes · 2024Article
- The Impact of Parasitic Infestation on Nutritional Status and Micronutrients among Children.Journal of parasitology research · 2024Article
- The opportunistic protist,Emerging microbes & infections · 2023Article
- Symptomatic and asymptomatic enteric protozoan parasitic infection and their association with subsequent growth parameters in under five children in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2023Article
- Prevalence, potential risk factors and genetic diversity of Blastocystis in ruminant livestock animals from Penang, Malaysia.Parasitology research · 2023Article
37 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
17 authors at 10 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundIntestinal protozoan infections are confirmed as major causes of diarrhea, particularly in children, and represent a significant, but often neglected, threat to public health. No recent data were available in Lebanon concerning the molecular epidemiology of protozoan infections in children, a vulnerable population at high risk of infection. METHODOLOGY AND PRINCIPAL
findingsIn order to improve our understanding of the epidemiology of intestinal pathogenic protozoa, a cross-sectional study was conducted in a general pediatric population including both symptomatic and asymptomatic subjects. After obtaining informed consent from the parents or legal guardians, stool samples were collected in January 2013 from 249 children in 2 schools in Tripoli, Lebanon. Information obtained from a standard questionnaire included demographic characteristics, current symptoms, socioeconomic status, source of drinking water, and personal hygiene habits. After fecal examination by both microscopy and molecular tools, the overall prevalence of parasitic infections was recorded as 85%. Blastocystis spp. presented the highest infection rate (63%), followed by Dientamoeba fragilis (60.6%), Giardia duodenalis (28.5%) and Cryptosporidium spp. (10.4%). PCR was also performed to identify species and genotypes of Cryptosporidium, subtypes of Blastocystis, and assemblages of Giardia. Statistical analysis using a logistic regression model showed that contact with family members presenting gastrointestinal disorders was the primary risk factor for transmission of these protozoa.
conclusionsThis is the first study performed in Lebanon reporting the prevalence and the clinical and molecular epidemiological data associated with intestinal protozoan infections among schoolchildren in Tripoli. A high prevalence of protozoan parasites was found, with Blastocystis spp. being the most predominant protozoans. Although only 50% of children reported digestive symptoms, asymptomatic infection was observed, and these children may act as unidentified carriers. This survey provides necessary information for designing prevention and control strategies to reduce the burden of these protozoan infections, especially in children.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.