Seroprevalence of Strongyloides stercoralis infection in a South Indian adult population.

• Published in: PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases
• Main Authors: Saravanan Munisankar, Anuradha Rajamanickam, Suganthi Balasubramanian, Satishwaran Muthusamy, Chandra Kumar Dolla, Pradeep Aravindan Menon, Ponnuraja Chinnayan, Christopher Whalen, Paschaline Gumne, Inderdeep Kaur, Varma Nadimpalli, Akshay Deverakonda, Zhenhao Chen, John David Otto, Tesfalidet Habitegiyorgis, Harish Kandaswamy, Thomas B Nutman, Subash Babu
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2022
• Subjects: Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Public aspects of medicine; RA1-1270; Arctic; Indian
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0010561; https://doaj.org/article/d7fc1da6a5a34e098cbc5d7869bb67d0

Background The prevalence of Strongyloides stercoralis infection is estimated to be 30-100 million worldwide, although this an underestimate. Most cases remain undiagnosed due to the asymptomatic nature of the infection. We wanted to estimate the seroprevalence of S. stercoralis infection in a South Indian adult population. Methods To this end, we performed community-based screening of 2351 individuals (aged 18-65) in Kanchipuram District of Tamil Nadu between 2013 and 2020. Serological testing for S. stercoralis was performed using the NIE ELISA. Results Our data shows a seroprevalence of 33% (768/2351) for S. stercoralis infection which had a higher prevalence among males 36% (386/1069) than among females 29.8% (382/1282). Adults aged ≥55 (aOR = 1.65, 95% CI: 1.25-2.18) showed higher adjusted odds of association compared with other age groups. Eosinophil levels (39%) (aOR = 1.43, 95% CI: 1.19-1.74) and hemoglobin levels (24%) (aOR = 1.25, 95% CI: 1.11-1.53) were significantly associated with S. stercoralis infection. In contrast, low BMI (aOR = 1.15, 95% CI: 0.82-1.61) or the presence of diabetes mellitus (OR = 1.18, 95% CI: 0.83-1.69) was not associated with S. stercoralis seropositivity. Conclusions Our study provides evidence for a very high baseline prevalence of S. stercoralis infection in South Indian communities and this information could provide realistic and concrete planning of control measures.