The prevalence of Q fever in the Eastern Mediterranean region: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Objective: Q fever is a main zoonotic disease around the world. This disease is common in the Eastern Mediterranean region, so we conducted for the first time a systematic review and meta-analysis between humans and animals and ticks in the Eastern Mediterranean region.Methods: Major national and international databases were searched from 2000 up to 2021. We extracted the prevalence of Q fever in a blood sample in animal, milk sample in animal, tick, and human as the main outcome. We reported the prevalence of seropositivity and molecular positivity as point and 95% confidence intervals.Results: In this review, 112 papers were identified. The overall seroprevalence Q fever was 22.4% (95% CI 19.8-25.1). The pooled prevalence of Q fever in tick was 17.5% (95% CI -1.3-36.4). The prevalence was 25.5%( 95% CI 16.1-34.9) in human. The prevalence of Q fever in animal blood samples such as goat,

Global and regional seroprevalence of coxiellosis in small ruminants: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

“…Seroprevalence of coxiellosis was significantly higher in goats than in sheep in this meta‐analysis. The findings of this study are in‐line with the findings of other regional meta‐analyses (Ahmadinezhad et al., 2022; Bwatota et al., 2022; Nokhodian et al., 2017). There is no conclusive evidence why goats are more frequently infected by coxiellosis than sheep or their role in the transmission dynamics of coxiellosis between species; however, genotyping of C. burnetii indicates that goats are the predominant source of infection in human coxiellosis outbreaks (Anastácio et al., 2022; Bauer et al., 2021).…”

“…The global epidemiology of coxiellosis in sheep and goats is not well known due to the apparent neglect of the disease by farmers and healthcare providers in many parts of the world. Several systematic review and/or meta‐analysis articles are available regarding the seroprevalence of coxiellosis in livestock in particular geographical locations, such as Africa (Bwatota et al., 2022; Vanderburg et al., 2014), the Eastern Mediterranean region (Ahmadinezhad et al., 2022), Iran (Mobarez et al., 2017; Nokhodian et al., 2017), Kenya (Njeru et al., 2016) and the USA (McQuiston & Childs, 2002). Although a pooled global prevalence is available in buffaloes (El‐Alfy et al., 2023) and horses (Marenzoni et al., 2013), it is not available in sheep and goats, to the best of the authors knowledge.…”

Zoonotic diseases transmitted from the camels

“…Given the favorable conditions for the pathogen, the Middle East region faces a significant public health threat from Q fever. Camels have an overall seroprevalence of 25% for C. burnetii ( 73 ). However, a study by Hussein et al ( 74 ) in Saudi Arabia using ELISA and indirect immunofluorescence (IFA) tests found antibodies to C. burnetii in 51.64% of camel serum, indicating a substantially higher proportion.…”

Prevalence, Risk Factors, and Relationship between Reproductive Performance and the Presence of Antibodies against Coxiellosis in Dairy Farm Milk Tanks in the Northwest of Spain

“…Taking this information into account, one main problem associated with coxiellosis is that there is very little detailed epidemiological data regarding its distribution and risk factors in cattle from anywhere in the world. The seroprevalence rates reported in cattle populations vary greatly, ranging from 0.0% to 97.2% [10,22,23]. It is worth mentioning that Spain has a higher incidence of Q fever in comparison to other European countries, with the majority of diagnosed cases reported in northern Spain, where there is a greater concentration of livestock activities [20].…”

“…In contrast to quantitative real-time PCR, ELISA is a good and reasonably priced indicator of the seroprevalence of coxiellosis; although, it cannot detect shedders, and it appears to be more sensitive for detecting antibodies in milk than in serum [24]. In this regard, bulk tank milk (BTM) sample analysis has been used successfully in surveys of the herd prevalence of several bovine diseases, including coxiellosis [22,[25][26][27]. It has been stated that ELISA applied to BTM samples had a sensitivity of 91% in terms of detecting herds positive for C. burnetii [28].…”