National surveillance of soil-transmitted helminth infecions in China in 2022

doi:10.12140/j.issn.1000-7423.2025.04.001

Abstract

Abstract:

Objective To investigate the current status of and trends in prevalence of soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections in China, so as to provide insights into management of soil-transmitted helminthiasi. Methods In 2022, a nationwide surveillance of soil-transmitted helminthiasis was conducted at designated surveillance sites of soil-transmitted helminthiasis across 30 provinces (autonomous regions/municipalities) in China (this survey was not conducted in Xizang), and a unified sampling method was employed in each surveillance site. One administrative village was selected from eastern, western, southern, northern and central regions, respectively. Two hundred permanent residents at ages of 3 years and older were sampled using a cluster sampling method from each administrative village, with a total of 1 000 individuals in a surveillance site. Participants’ stool samples were collected and tested for STH infections and egg counts using the modified Kato-Katz thick smear method (two slides for one sample). The prevalence and intensity of STH infections were calculated, and differences of prevalence were tested for statistical significance with chi-square test. Five households were randomly selected from each administrative village, and one soil sample was collected from each household farmland/vegetable garden for isolation and characterization of hookworm larvae and detection of Ascaris lumbricoides eggs. Results A total of 363 603 residents from 354 surveillance sites in 30 provinces (autonomous regions/municipalities) were surveyed for STH infections, with an overall infection prevalence of 0.64% (2 330/363 603), with the highest prevalence detected in Sichuan Province (4.53%, 776/17 149), followed by in Yunnan Province (4.31%, 646/14 974) and Hainan Province (3.98%, 123/3 089). Fifteen provinces (autonomous regions/municipalities), including Fujian, Guizhou, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Chongqing, Shandong, Qinghai, Guangxi, Ningxia, Anhui, Hunan, Gansu, Shanxi, Liaoning, and Guangdong, showed prevalence ranging from 0.10% to 1.50%. Seven provinces (autonomous regions), namely Jilin, Shaanxi, Xinjiang, Jiangsu, Henan, Hubei, and Hebei, exhibited prevalence between > 0 and < 0.10%. No infected cases were detected in five provinces (autonomous regions/municipalities): Beijing, Heilongjiang, Inner Mongolia, Shanghai, and Tianjin. The prevalence of STH infections was higher among females (0.72%, 1 332/184 152) than among males (0.56%, 998/179 451) (χ² = 39.89, P < 0.05). The highest prevalence of STH infections was detected among residents at ages of 60 years and older (1.00%, 1 014/100 963). The differences in prevalence among age groups were statistically significant (χ² = 366.01, P < 0.05). The prevalence rates of hookworm, A. lumbricoides, and Trichuris trichiura were 0.39% (1 410/363 603), 0.16% (569/363 603), and 0.14% (494/363 603), with mild infections accounting for 94.47% (1 332/1 410), 71.00% (404/569), 91.50% (452/494), respectively. Both A. lumbricoides eggs and hookworm larvae were detected in soil samples from farmlands and vegetable gardens. The detection rates of A. lumbricoides eggs and hookworm larvae were 1.24% (29/2 335) and 1.11% (26/2 335), respectively. Conclusion The overall prevalence of soil-transmitted helminthiasis is low in China; however, there are high regional and human disparities. Tailored prevention and control measures should be implemented to promote transmission control and interruption of soil-transmitted helminthiasis in China.

Key words: Soil-transmitted helminthiasis, Infection rate, Surveillance, Hookworm, Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura

CLC Number:

R532.1

ZHU Huihui, HUANG Jilei, ZHOU Changhai, ZHU Tingjun, ZHAO Luyuan, QIAN Menbao, LI Shizhu. National surveillance of soil-transmitted helminth infecions in China in 2022[J]. CHINESE JOURNAL OF PARASITOLOGY AND PARASITIC DISEASES, 2025, 43(4): 451-457.

Figures/Tables 3

Table 1

Infection rates of soil-transmitted helminth in different regions in national surveillance sites of 2022

省（自治区、直辖市） Province (Autonomous Region, Municipality)	检查人数 No. exam’d	土源性线虫 Soil-transmitted helminth			钩虫 Hookworm			蛔虫 Ascaris lumbricoides			鞭虫 Trichuris trichura
省（自治区、直辖市） Province (Autonomous Region, Municipality)	检查人数 No. exam’d	感染人数 No. infected	感染率/% Infection rate/%	95%置信区间 95%CI	感染人数 No. infected	感染率/% Infection rate/%	95%置信区间 95%CI	感染人数 No. infected	感染率/% Infection rate/%	95%置信区间 95%CI	感染人数 No. infected	感染率/% Infection rate/%	95%置信区间 95%CI
北京 Beijing	3 191	0	0	0~0.12	0	0	0~0.12	0	0	0~0.12	0	0	0~0.12
天津 Tianjin	3 067	0	0	0~0.12	0	0	0~0.12	0	0	0~0.12	0	0	0~0.12
河北 Hebei	17 072	2	0.01	0~0.03	0	0	0~0.02	2	0.01	0~0.03	0	0	0~0.02
山西 Shanxi	18 109	22	0.12	0.07~0.17	0	0	0~0.02	22	0.12	0.07~0.17	0	0	0~0.02
内蒙古 Inner Mongolia	10 022	0	0	0~0.04	0	0	0~0.04	0	0	0~0.04	0	0	0~0.04
辽宁 Liaoning	13 095	15	0.11	0.06~0.17	0	0	0~0.03	15	0.11	0.06~0.17	0	0	0~0.03
吉林 Jilin	19 000	13	0.07	0.03~0.11	0	0	0~0.02	13	0.07	0.03~0.11	0	0	0~0.02
黑龙江 Heilongjiang	4 000	0	0	0~0.09	0	0	0~0.09	0	0	0~0.09	0	0	0~0.09
上海 Shanghai	3 617	0	0	0~0.10	0	0	0~0.10	0	0	0~0.10	0	0	0~0.10
江苏 Jiangsu	11 125	5	0.04	0.01~0.08	3	0.03	0~0.06	0	0	0~0.03	2	0.02	0~0.04
浙江 Zhejiang	11 352	59	0.52	0.39~0.65	59	0.52	0.39~0.65	0	0	0~0.03	0	0	0~0.03
安徽 Anhui	29 048	68	0.23	0.18~0.29	65	0.22	0.17~0.28	2	0.01	0~0.02	2	0.01	0~0.02
福建 Fujian	8 174	122	1.49	1.23~1.76	113	1.38	1.13~1.64	1	0.01	0~0.04	9	0.11	0.04~0.18
江西 Jiangxi	14 303	101	0.71	0.57~0.84	41	0.29	0.2~0.37	42	0.29	0.2~0.38	18	0.13	0.07~0.18
山东 Shandong	14 283	58	0.41	0.30~0.51	2	0.01	0~0.03	1	0.01	0~0.02	55	0.39	0.28~0.49
河南 Henan	16 554	5	0.03	0~0.06	2	0.01	0~0.03	3	0.02	0~0.04	0	0	0~0.09
湖北 Hubei	10 238	2	0.02	0~0.05	0	0	0~0.04	1	0.01	0~0.03	1	0.01	0~0.03
湖南 Hunan	7 014	14	0.20	0.1~0.30	5	0.07	0.01~0.13	6	0.09	0.02~0.15	3	0.04	0~0.09
广东 Guangdong	23 560	23	0.10	0.06~0.14	6	0.03	0.01~0.05	7	0.03	0.01~0.05	10	0.04	0.02~0.07
广西 Guangxi	16 582	55	0.33	0.24~0.42	32	0.19	0.13~0.26	1	0.01	0~0.02	22	0.13	0.08~0.19
海南 Hainan	3 089	123	3.98	3.29~4.67	108	3.50	2.85~4.14	2	0.06	0~0.15	13	0.42	0.19~0.65
重庆 Chongqing	11 093	56	0.50	0.37~0.64	44	0.40	0.28~0.51	11	0.10	0.04~0.16	1	0.01	0~0.03
四川 Sichuan	17 149	776	4.53	4.21~4.84	344	2.01	1.8~2.22	297	1.73	1.54~1.93	253	1.48	1.29~1.66
贵州 Guizhou	13 100	98	0.75	0.60~0.90	43	0.33	0.23~0.43	32	0.24	0.16~0.33	25	0.19	0.12~0.27
云南 Yunnan	14 974	646	4.31	3.99~4.64	543	3.63	3.33~3.93	44	0.29	0.21~0.38	80	0.53	0.42~0.65
陕西 Shaanxi	17 122	10	0.06	0.02~0.09	0	0	0~0.02	10	0.06	0.02~0.09	0	0	0~0.02
甘肃 Gansu	5 070	7	0.14	0.04~0.24	0	0	0~0.07	7	0.14	0.04~0.24	0	0	0~0.07
青海 Qinghai	5 194	18	0.35	0.19~0.51	0	0	0~0.07	18	0.35	0.19~0.51	0	0	0~0.07
宁夏 Ningxia	10 625	26	0.24	0.15~0.34	0	0	0~0.03	26	0.24	0.15~0.34	0	0	0~0.03
新疆 Xinjiang	12 781	6	0.05	0.01~0.08	0	0	0~0.03	6	0.05	0.01~0.08	0	0	0~0.03
合计 Total	363 603	2 330	0.64	0.61~0.67	1 410	0.39	0.37~0.41	569	0.16	0.14~0.17	494	0.14	0.12~0.15

Table 1

Table 2

Table 3

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