Status of Anaplasma spp. infection in domestic ruminants from Iran: A systematic review with meta-analysis.

Anaplasma species are tick-borne pathogens that are obligatory intracellular of ruminants and other mammalians. In this investigation, we systematically reviewed the distribution of anaplasmosis among domestic ruminants in Iran. Five and four English and Persian databases were studied, respectively, based on keywords and throughout 17 years (2001-2017). Thirty-eight articles were included in this systematic review and meta-analysis. Totally, 5093 cattle, 1958 sheep, and 1232 goats corresponding to prevalence of Anaplasma infection from different areas of Iran were examined. The total prevalence of Anaplasma infection was estimated to be 34% (95% CI 27%, 41%) in domestic ruminants. Based on our data, Khozestan (54%) and Khorasan Razavi (46%) provinces were the most prevalent areas in Iran and Kerman (3%) and Hamedan (1%) provinces are the lowest. The highest prevalence of Anaplasma spp. infection was belonged to A. ovis (44%) and the lowest to A. phagocytophilum (1%) with a significant difference among them ( p  < .001). In addition, the most common diagnostic tests were PCR (54%), microscopy (35%) and ELISA (7%) assays. The high prevalence of ovine and bovine anaplasmosis in Iran, confirms the stability situations of animal anaplasmosis in the studied regions particularly northeastern and southwestern parts of the country. Our data offer valuable and encouraging information as regards the current situation of anaplasmosis in domestic livestock in Iran, which might be useful for active and passive surveillance and preventing plans.
Competing Interests: All authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
(© 2020 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of World Federation of Parasitologists.)