Prevalence of Toxoplasmosis in sheep and goats in Pakistan: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Tanzila Mumtaz, Usman Ayub Awan, Aqsa Mushtaq, Muhmmad Sohail Afzal, Tahir Mahmood, Tahir Mahmood, Samia Wasif, Abid Ali, Kiran Ajmal, Teroj Mohamed, Ali Muhammad, Hua Liu, Haroon Ahmed*, Jianping Cao*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

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Abstract

Toxoplasmosis, a parasitic disease caused by Toxoplasma gondii, results in congenital disorders and miscarriages among livestock and humans worldwide. This systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted to determine the prevalence of T. gondii infection in sheep and goats in Pakistan from 2000 to 2020. We searched the PubMed, Scopus, EMBASE, and Google Scholar databases and selected 17 publications that fulfilled our inclusion criteria. Eight studies were conducted in Southern Punjab, six in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, two in Northern Punjab, and one in Central Punjab. The diagnostic tests used in the included articles to confirm toxoplasmosis were the latex agglutination test in 56% of the studies, the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in 38%, and the indirect hemagglutination assay in 6%. The infection rates were substantially higher among sheep > 1 year of age (37%) than among sheep ≤ 1 year old (19%). Statistically significant differences in infection rates were found between male and female sheep and goats. The overall infection rate by age was also significant among sheep and goats. Sex and age variability between sheep investigations were significant, and sex heterogeneity and age homogeneity were significant among goats. Hence, robust infection control protocols should be implemented to prevent infection in animals and humans.
Original languageEnglish
Article number1331
Number of pages17
JournalPathogens
Volume11
Issue number11
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 11 Nov 2022

Keywords

  • toxoplasmosis
  • Toxoplasma gondii
  • prevalence
  • sheep
  • goat
  • Pakistan

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