An estimation of global Aeromonas infection prevalence in children with diarrhoea: a systematic review and meta-analysis

OBJECTIVES: Diarrhoea is the most commonly related disease caused by Aeromonas. To improve knowledge on prevalence, this systematic review and meta-analysis was performed to evaluate the global prevalence of Aeromonas in children with diarrhoea worldwide. METHODS: We systematically searched PubMed, Google scholar, Wiley Online Library, ScienceDirect, and Web of sciences to identify all cross-sectional published papers between 2000 and 10 July 2022. After initial scrutinizing, 31 papers reporting the prevalence of Aeromonas in children with diarrhoea were found to be adequate for meta-analysis. The statistical study was accompanied by using random effects models. RESULTS: A total of 5660 identified papers, 31 cross-sectional studies encompassing 38,663 participants were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled prevalence of Aeromonas in children with diarrhoea worldwide was 4.2% (95% CI 3.1–5.6%). In the subgroup analysis, the highest prevalence was seen among children in Upper middle-income countries with pooled prevalence of 5.1% (95% CI 2.8–9.2%). The prevalence of Aeromonas in children with diarrhoea was higher in countries with populations of over 100 million people (9.4%; 95% CI 5.6–15.3%), and water and sanitation quality score of less than 25% (8.8%; 95% CI 5.2–14.4%). Additionally, Cumulative Forest Plot showed a decreasing trend in the prevalence of Aeromonas infection in children with diarrhoea over time (P = 0.0001). CONCLUSION: The results of this study showed a better comprehension of Aeromonas prevalence in children with diarrhoea on a global scale. As well as our findings showed that much work is still required to decline the burden of bacterial diarrhoea in countries with high populations, low-level income, and unsanitary water.