title: Serological Prevalence of Schistosoma japonicum in Mobile Populations in Previously Endemic but Now Non-Endemic Regions of China: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Schistosomiasis japonica has been resurging in certain areas of China where its transmission was previously well controlled or interrupted. Several factors may be contributing to this, including mobile populations, which if infected, may spread the disease. A wide range of estimates have been published for S. japonicum infections in mobile populations, and a synthesis of these data will elucidate the relative risk presented from these groups.
  
  
  METHODS
  A literature search for publications up to Oct 31, 2014 on S. japonicum infection in mobile populations in previously endemic but now non-endemic regions was conducted using four bibliographic databases: China National Knowledge Infrastructure, WanFang, VIP Chinese Journal Databases, and PubMed. A meta-analysis was conducted by pooling one arm binary data with MetaAnalyst Beta 3.13. The protocol is available on PROSPERO (No. CRD42013005967).
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 41 studies in Chinese met the inclusion criteria, covering seven provinces of China. The time of post-interruption surveillance ranged from the first year to the 31st year. After employing a random-effects model, from 1992 to 2013 the pooled seroprevalence ranged from 0.9% (95% CI: 0.5-1.6%) in 2003 to 2.3% (95% CI: 1.5-3.4) in 1995; from the first year after the disease had been interrupted to the 31st year, the pooled seroprevalence ranged from 0.6% (95% CI: 0.2-2.1%) in the 27th year to 4.0% (95%CI: 1.3-11.3%) in the second year. The pooled seroprevalence in mobile populations each year was significantly lower than among the residents of endemic regions, whilst four papers reported a lower level of infection in the mobile populations than in the local residents out of only 13 papers which included this data.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The re-emergence of S. japonicum in areas which had previously interrupted transmission might be due to other factors, although risk from re-introduction from mobile populations could not be excluded.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Statistics, School of Public Health, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China.
authors.forename: Chao-Rong
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Bian
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Statistics, School of Public Health, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China.
authors.forename: Da-Bing
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Statistics, School of Public Health, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Su
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, School of Biology and Basic Medical Sciences, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China.
authors.forename: Xia
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, School of Biology and Basic Medical Sciences, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China.
authors.forename: Hong-Xiang
authors.initials: HX
authors.lastname: Zhuge
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Imperial College London, London, W2 1PG, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Poppy H L
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Lamberton
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D019353:Endemic Diseases / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D009068:Movement; D015995:Prevalence; D017594:Publication Bias; D012549:Schistosoma japonicum / Q000502:physiology*; D012554:Schistosomiasis japonica / Q000097:blood* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology / Q000635:transmission; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies