Prevalence of human filovirus infections in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review and meta-analysis protocol

Recent outbreaks of Ebola virus disease (EVD) and Marburg virus disease (MVD) in sub-Saharan Africa illustrate the need to better understand animal reservoirs, burden of disease, and human transmission of filoviruses. This protocol outlines a systematic literature review to assess the prevalence of filoviruses that infect humans in sub-Saharan Africa. A secondary aim is to qualitatively describe and evaluate the assays used to assess prevalence.

The data sources for this systematic review include PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science. Titles, abstracts, and full texts will be reviewed for inclusion by a primary reviewer and then by a team of secondary reviewers, and data will be extracted using a pre-specified and piloted data extraction form. The review will include human cross-sectional studies, cohort studies, and randomized controlled trials conducted in sub-Saharan Africa up until March 13, 2024 that have been published in peer-reviewed scientific journals, with no language restrictions. Prevalence will be stratified by pathogen, population, assay, and sampling methodology and presented in forest plots with estimated prevalence and 95% confidence intervals. If there are enough studies within a stratum, I² statistics will be calculated (using R statistical software), and data will be pooled if heterogeneity is low. In addition, assays used to detect infection will be evaluated. All studies included in the review will be assessed for quality and risk of bias using the JBI Prevalence Critical Appraisal Tool and for certainty using the GRADE certainty ratings.

Accurately measuring the rate of exposure to filoviruses infecting humans in sub-Saharan Africa using prevalence provides an essential understanding of natural history, transmission, and the role of subclinical infection. This systematic review will identify research gaps and provide directions for future research seeking to improve our understanding of filovirus infections. Understanding the natural history, transmission, and the role of subclinical infection is critical for predicting the impact of an intervention on disease burden.

In accordance with the guidelines outlined in the PRISMA-P methodology, this protocol was registered with PROSPERO on April 7, 2023 (ID: CRD42023415358).