A meta-analysis of the prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in animals and humans in Ethiopia

Abstract

BackgroundToxoplasmosis is a worldwide zoonosis. The objectives of this study were to estimate the prevalence and assess the potential risk factors of Toxoplasma gondii infections in animals and humans in Ethiopia by using meta-analytical methods.MethodsPublished studies on T. gondii in animals and humans in Ethiopia were searched in Medline, Google Scholar and the lists of references of articles. Eligible studies were selected by using inclusion and exclusion criteria. The risks of within and across study biases, and the variations in prevalence estimates attributable to heterogeneities were assessed. Pooled prevalence was estimated by the DerSimonian and Laird random effects model.ResultsThirty two studies were eligible and data from 5689 animals and 5718 humans were used for quantitative syntheses. The pooled IgG seroprevalence in cats, small ruminants and humans were estimated at 87.72 % (95 % CI = 78.63, 93.28), 34.59 % (95 % CI = 21.08, 51.12) and 74.73 % (95 % CI = 61.85, 84.36), respectively. The odds of infections were higher in pregnant than in non pregnant women (OR = 3.96), in individuals that had contact with cats than those with no contact (OR = 2.53), and in urban than in rural inhabitants (OR = 2.06).ConclusionsToxoplasmosis is highly prevalent and could be a cause of considerable reproductive wastage in small ruminants and multiple diseases in humans in Ethiopia. Public education on preventive measures could help reduce the transmission of the parasite to humans.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13071-015-0901-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of the seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in cats in mainland China

“…The overall seroprevalence of T. gondii in cats in mainland China from 1991 to 2015 was 24.5% (95% CI: 20.1–29.0). Although comparable with the prevalence recorded in Spain (25.5% in pet cats and 36.9% in stray cats) [70] and much lower than in Ethiopia (87.72%) [71] and Estonia (60.8%) [72], it was much higher than in the neighbouring country Japan (5.4% in pet cats) [73, 74]. Our study shows a moderate seroprevalence of T. gondii in cats in mainland China when compared to the average seroprevalence of 30–40% worldwide [1].…”

Rolling up the pieces of a puzzle: A systematic review and meta-analysis of the prevalence of toxoplasmosis in Iran

“…Being one of the marvelous parasites, T. gondii still possesses a relatively high rate of prevalence in different mankind societies as well as various animal species. 1,3,8,11,21,[28][29][30][31][32] The objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to estimate the prevalence of T. gondii infection in human and animal populations in Iran premised on records obtained from literature review. We searched 7 databases among which 7 papers were included with 105,139 examined samples obtained from different hosts and weighted overall prevalence was 37% (95% CI = 31-43) ( Table 2).…”

“…11,34,35 In Ethiopia, toxoplasmosis prevalence rate of 75% has been observed which may be corroborated by the abundance of infected cats and food animals, low levels of hygiene and living in sub-standard conditions. 28 Pregnant women are substantial targets of T. gondii infection and the seroprevalence of infection among this population in Iran Table 1 Baseline characteristics of included studies.…”

Prevalence of Toxoplasmosis and Associated Risk Factors in Women in Northern Border Area, Saudi Arabia

“…As reported by many studies, unimproved water sources can be affected from contaminated soil by cat faeces contains oocyst [31,32]. In this study, there was no association between water sources and infection, and this is due to the pure water consumption by the participant either home filtered using the fixed purification system or bottled water.…”