Prevalence of cystic echinococcosis in slaughtered livestock in Iran: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Hydatidosis is a zoonotic disease and has a great general and economic health importance in both developed and developing countries. Therefore, this systematic and meta-analytic study was conducted to determine the prevalence of cystic echinococcosis in slaughtered livestock in Iran. METHODS: The present study was conducted as a systematic review and meta-analysis. The SID & Magiran, MEDLINE (PubMed), ScienceDirect, Scopus, and Google Scholar databases were searched with a view to selecting relevant research works. As a result, 31 articles published from April 1970 to April 2020 were selected. The heterogeneity of the studies was assessed using the I(2) index. Data analysis was conducted within the Comprehensive Meta-Analysis software (CMA) v.3.0 (Biostat, Englewood, NJ, USA) and Arc map (ArcGIS 10.3) software. RESULTS: The heterogeneity of the studies was evaluated using the I(2) test which value was 99% showing a high heterogeneity in the studies. The results of publication bias in studies were evaluated by the Egger test, which were not statistically significant (P = 0.144). The overall prevalence of cystic echinococcosis in slaughtered livestock in Iran is 13.9% (95%CI: 10.7–17.7%). The results of the meta-regression analysis indicate the increasing trend of the hydatid cyst prevalence with the increase of sample size and publication year (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: According to the results of this study and the relatively high prevalence of cystic echinococcosis in slaughtered livestock in Iran, health policy makers should make effective decisions in this regard, and implement careful inspections and interventions by experts and health authorities.