Situation and Outcome of Multiple Parasitic Infections in Iran: A Narrative Review

Document Type : Review Article

Authors

1 Research Center for Hydatid Disease in Iran, School of Medicine, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.

2 Department of Parasitology and Mycology, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

10.22092/ari.2023.364018.2923

Abstract

Multiple parasitic infections frequently occur all over the world particularly in the developing countries where environmental and socioeconomic parameters predispose communities to various parasitic agents. This phenomenon complicates the diagnosis, treatment, and control of parasitic diseases in endemic communities, causing significant adverse clinical and epidemiological outcomes. This study aimed to explore different aspects of multi-parasitism of human and tried to present a conceptual outline and a comprehensive outlook on the outcomes of multi-parasitism and missed infections in Iran, where this issue has been under considered.
Concomitant parasitic infections present several challenges including misdiagnosis and underdiagnosis of human parasitic diseases and are major pitfalls in clinical parasitology labs in Iran. Reliable diagnosis is a key to the proper and effective treatment of parasitic infections, and this could be more complicated in the case of multiple parasitic infections. Poor diagnostic accuracy could be potentially life threatening particularly in immunocompromised people. Moreover, transmission dynamics, distribution pattern and control programs of parasitic diseases are significantly affected by underdiagnosed parasitic infections.
Polyparasitism is a common feature of the epidemiology of parasitic infections in Iran, where environmental and sanitary conditions and socioeconomic parameters predispose communities to the infections. Complementary diagnostic methods could detect low-intensity infections that would have otherwise gone undiagnosed in a conventional clinical laboratory. In most laboratories in the endemic countries use of these methods is neither feasible nor cost effective. Successful implementation of national reference labs for the diagnosis of parasitic infections is essential for the reliable diagnosis, effective treatment, and relieving burden of diseases.

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Archives of Razi Institute

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 11 December 2023

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