Global prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in birds: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Among the potential animal reservoirs of the zoonotic parasite T. gondii, birds have received relatively little attention. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to assess the global status and to provide an overview of the epidemiology of T. gondii infection in birds. The standard protocol of preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were followed. Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science, Science Direct, ProQuest, and Google Scholar were searched for relevant publications from January 1990, to March 2024. All peer-reviewed original research articles describing the prevalence of T. gondii in birds were included. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied, and both direct and indirect detection were considered. The point estimates and 95% confidence intervals were calculated using the meta-package in R (version 3.6.1). The variance between studies (heterogeneity) was quantified by the I index. Finally, 258 articles (including 380 datasets) were eligible for inclusion in the systematic review and meta-analysis. The global pooled prevalence was 24% (21 - 26%). The highest prevalence of T. gondii was observed in buzzards (52%, 34 - 70%), turkeys (31%, 17 - 46%), and chickens (30%, 26 - 34%). The present study provides a comprehensive view of the global prevalence of T. gondii in birds.