Prevalence of brucellosis in livestock of African and Asian continents: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Brucellosis is a highly contagious bacterial disease that mainly affects ruminants, but it may affect equines, canines, and felines. The disease is of utmost significance from an economic standpoint in countries where there is no national brucellosis prevention and eradication policy in operation. A systematic review was done to estimate disease burden, incidences, prevalence, and geographical distribution critical in planning appropriate intervention strategies for the control and prevention of Brucellosis. Research articles that were published during the period 2000–2020 were considered for this study after reinforced scrutiny by two independent authors. Meta-regression was used to examine heterogeneity, and subgroup and sensitivity analyses were used to calculate residual heterogeneity and the pooled prevalence of Brucellosis in livestock. Confounders such as geography, a diagnostic test, and species had the greatest R(2) values of 17.8, 8.8, and 2.3%, respectively, indicating the presence of heterogeneity and necessitating more research into sensitivity and subgroup analysis. The combined pooled prevalence of brucellosis in both Asia and African countries was 8% when compared to 12% in the Indian livestock population. The findings of our systematic review and meta-analysis indicate that brucellosis continues to be an important animal and public health concern in developing countries of Asia and Africa, as evidenced by the prevalence rate of brucellosis in these regions. Our findings suggested that well-planned epidemiological surveillance studies in different geographic settings are needed to generate reliable data on disease burden including the economic loss in Asian and African countries.