Epidemiological Trend Analysis of Bovine Tuberculosis and Its Public Health Impact in Ethiopia

Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) has significant economic losses on the livestock productivity and poses serious public health risks worldwide. In Ethiopia, bTB is endemic and distributed across all parts of the country. Therefore, the systematic review aims to provide comprehensive investigations of the trends, risk factors, and zoonotic impacts of bTB in Ethiopia. Only English language publications from 2009 to 2022 were included. Databases searched included PubMed, PubMed Central, Medline, Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and ResearchGate. From a total of 129 articles retrieved, only 44 studies fulfilled the eligibility criteria. The overall pooled prevalence of bTB over 15 years was 11.04%. Female cattle had a significantly higher prevalence (19.85%) compared to male cattle (4.07%) (p=0.002). Emaciated animals were more affected than those in good body condition (p=0.04). Prevalence differed significantly among intensive (22.60%), semi-intensive (17.08%), and extensive (13.70%) production systems (p=0.01). The prevalence of bTB showed statistical significance (p=0.001) in three different breeds. Exotic breeds had the highest prevalence (28.46%), followed by crossed (12.61%) and local breeds (9.56%). Large herds showed a higher prevalence (42.69%) compared to medium (12.13%) and small herds (11.26%) (p=0.001). Poor management systems had a higher positivity rate (31.27%) compared to medium (15.23%) and good (9.89%) management systems (p=0.01). Studies with sample sizes less than 400 reported higher prevalence (20.70%) compared to those with 400-800 samples (11.70%) and more than 800 samples (5.83%) (p=0.001). Significant variations were observed among different diagnosis techniques (p=0.004). Only 40.82% and 35.51% of cattle owners had knowledge of bTB and awareness of its zoonotic impacts, respectively. Overall, the trends of bTB remain a significant impact in Ethiopia, affecting both livestock productivity and public health. Understanding these trends is essential for the development of evidence-based control strategies. The integration of epidemiological modeling with public health impact assessments can further strengthen policy formulation and guide resource prioritization more effectively. Therefore, effective control and prevention measures, along with continuous public education, are essential to mitigate economic losses and reduce the zoonotic impacts of bTB in the country. Using improved diagnostic techniques should be recommended to estimate the actual prevalence of the disease.