Global Prevalence of Anaplasma phagocytophilum in Cattle: A One Health Perspective, Meta-Analysis and Future...

Anaplasma phagocytophilum is an emerging tick-borne zoonotic bacterium, which is considered a significant risk to the health and industry of cattle in tropical and sub-tropical regions worldwide. This research focuses on examining the worldwide occurrence of A. phagocytophilum in cattle. Several databases, including Scopus, PubMed, ProQuest, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar, were searched for publications spanning October 2004 to November 2024. The pooled prevalence was calculated with a 95% confidence interval (CI) using a random-effects model based on the Freeman-Tukey double arcsine transformation. A total of 72 studies satisfied the inclusion criteria, revealing a global prevalence of A. phagocytophilum in cattle estimated at 8.5% (5.9%-11.5%). Mongolia (51.9%, 45.9%-56.2%) and Guatemala (51%, 41.2%-60.7%) were countries that accounted for the highest prevalence. Moreover, the infection was most prevalent in African region with prevalence of 11.3% (3.9%-21.5%). The highest prevalence rate was observed in hot-summer Mediterranean climate (13.7%, 4.7%-26.2%). The analysis indicated that immunological techniques were associated with the highest prevalence rate (14.2%, 6.5%-24.3%). The findings of the present research highlighted important geographical and environmental factors that affect the prevalence of disease. In the fields of veterinary medicine and public health, these findings enhance disease management plans and preventative initiatives.