Over-dispersion in malaria-schistosoma co-infection: insights from a meta-analytical approach and systematic review

Malaria and schistosomiasis are two major parasitic diseases that are co-endemic in many regions of sub-Saharan Africa. Despite their frequent geographical overlap, the potential epidemiological patterns and potential interactions associated with Plasmodium--Schistosoma co-infection remain poorly characterized. This study aimed to systematically assess the epidemiology of malaria-schistosomiasis co-infection and to quantify whether co-infections occur more frequently than expected under an assumption of independence between the two infections.