Estimating the proportion of clinically suspected cholera cases that are true Vibrio cholerae infections: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Kirsten E WiensHanmeng XuKaiyue ZouJohn MwabaJustin LesslerEspoir Bwenge MalembakaMaya N DembyGodfrey BwireFirdausi QadriElizabeth C LeeAndrew S AzmanPublished in: PLoS medicine (2023)
In this study, we found that burden estimates based on suspected cases alone may overestimate the incidence of medically attended cholera by 2-fold. However, accounting for cases missed by traditional clinical surveillance is key to unbiased cholera burden estimates. Given the substantial variability in positivity between settings, extrapolations from suspected to confirmed cases, which is necessary to estimate cholera incidence rates without exhaustive testing, should be based on local data.