A meta-analysis report on the prevalence of Cystic Echinococcosis in cattle and buffalo in India from 1980-2020

Abstract

Cystic Echinococcosis (CE) or hydatidosis is a zoonotic helminthic disease caused by the meta-cestode stage of a tapeworm belonging to the genus Echinococcus (family Taeniidae). CE is found in both human and animal populations throughout the world. Here we analysed the prevalence of CE in cattle and buffalo in India from 1980–2022 separately. Data mining was carried out from various databases such as Google scholar, PubMed, Scopus, Springer's, Science Direct, Krishikosh, Indianjournals.com, J-Gate@ Consortium of e-Resources in Agriculture (CeRA) under ICAR, symposia, research abstracts of conferences, seminars, and other published literatures ranging from 1980 to 2020. The meta-analysis was performed using the R package. Cochran’s test and statistics were used to assess the heterogeneity among the data. The results of the study were graphically represented by the forest plots. The total prevalence rate of CE in cattle and buffalo is estimated to be 15% in cattle and 13% in buffalo and the highest occurrence of cyst is observed in buffalo lungs. The prevalence is comparatively higher than the reports from neighboring countries. Even though, CE is an important infectious disease of livestock, there are only few reports on data analysis and epidemiological investigations conducted in cattle and buffalo. These data are critical for implementing better control and preventive measures. The prevalence rate necessitates public health education and awareness about the disease's dangers, as well as education on proper animal slaughtering techniques, prevention of feeding dogs with viscera from home-slaughtered animals, prevention of direct contact with dogs' faeces, enforcement of meat inspection legislation, improved veterinary services, and as well as treating, vaccination of dogs and domestic animals.