title: Seroprevalence of five parasitic pathogens in pregnant women in ten Caribbean countries.
abstract: To date, published epidemiological studies of parasitic infections in humans in the Caribbean region are very limited. Here, we report the seroprevalence of five parasitic pathogens, including Ascaris lumbricoides, Entamoeba histolytica, Giardia lamblia, Schistosoma mansoni, and Toxocara canis in 435 serum samples collected between 2008 and 2011 from pregnant women in ten Caribbean islands. We tested the serum samples for IgG antibodies against the five parasites by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Among them, 66.2 % were serologically positive for at least one parasite. The most prevalent parasite was G. lamblia (40.5 %), followed by A. lumbricoides (37.9 %), T. canis (14.5 %), E. histolytica (6.7 %), and S. mansoni (3.0 %). Evidence of infections of G. lamblia and A. lumbricoides were detected in all ten Caribbean countries. Seroprevalence estimates significantly differed between countries for A. lumbricoides, E. histolytica, and T. canis (p values <0.001). For S. mansoni, significance was observed by Fisher's exact test (p = 0.013) but not by multiple comparisons. The prevalence of G. lamblia was not significantly different between countries (p = 0.089). A significant negative correlation between the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita and overall seroprevalence by country was also observed (Pearson's r = -0.9202, p = 0.0002). The data strongly indicates that neglected parasitic infections remain a significant health burden on people in these countries. Thus, justification has been provided to regional health planners to enhance existing public health surveillance programs on parasitic diseases and to heighten the public's awareness through education and outreach programs on how they can minimize the occurrence of parasitic infections.
authors: Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA.
authors: Fengguang
authors: F
authors: Guo
authors: Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, School of Medicine, St. George's University, St. George's, West Indies, Grenada.
authors: Martin S
authors: MS
authors: Forde
authors: Laboratory for Study Design and Statistical Analysis, Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, USA.
authors: Stephen R
authors: SR
authors: Werre
authors: Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA. tkrecek@cvm.tamu.edu.|Texas A&M University One Health Initiative Program, College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA. tkrecek@cvm.tamu.edu.|Department of Zoology, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa. tkrecek@cvm.tamu.edu.
authors: Rosina C
authors: RC
authors: Krecek
authors: Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA. gzhu@cvm.tamu.edu.
authors: Guan
authors: G
authors: Zhu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017164:Ascaris lumbricoides; D017691:Caribbean Region / Q000453:epidemiology; D004748:Entamoeba histolytica; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D016829:Giardia lamblia; D006801:Humans; D007411:Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D015995:Prevalence; D012550:Schistosoma mansoni; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies
keywords: Ascaris lumbricoides; Caribbean; Entamoeba histolytica; Giardia lamblia; Pregnant women; Schistosoma mansoni; Seroprevalence; Toxocara canis