Current status, challenges and control of human sparganosis worldwide: a scoping review

Human sparganosis is a neglected foodborne/waterborne zoonosis and a rare infectious disease of poverty (rIDP) that is widely distributed globally and threatens human health. Economic development and the expanded dissemination of public health knowledge have fueled increased global focus on rIDPs. The epidemiology of human sparganosis has shifted on the basis of emerging evidence; moreover, comprehensive contemporary data on its global distribution remain outdated. To address this gap, we conducted a systematic retrospective analysis to map the global case distribution of human sparganosis. We then summarized and analyzed the basic demographic characteristics, infection sites, modes of transmission and diagnostic methods.

We systematically searched the China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang, PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus and Embase databases for case reports, dissertations, reviews and meeting abstracts. The literature search was conducted up to April 30, 2025, without any restrictions on the year of publication. The analysis focused exclusively on articles on human sparganosis cases, with no restrictions on publication language or country of origin. We followed the inclusion and exclusion criteria to identify relevant studies. The relevant information from the identified studies was subsequently collected and summarized.

A total of 822 articles involving 3472 valid cases and 16 serological survey articles involving 3148 positive subjects were identified and included. Our analysis revealed the global distribution of human sparganosis. The disease is distributed worldwide, while China, the Republic of Korea and Thailand are the top three countries in terms of reported case concentration. However, some African regions, such as South Sudan, Tanzania and Ethiopia, may have the potential for a greater number of human sparganosis cases.

This scoping review provides updates on the global distribution changes and epidemiological status of human sparganosis. East Asia and Southeast Asia continue to be regions where human sparganosis is highly prevalent, while the disease burden in some resource-limited regions may be underestimated. Our findings may receive increasing attention in endemic regions, raise awareness in resource-limited, nonendemic areas. In the future, there is still a need to strengthen the prevention and control of this disease worldwide.