Continental Prevalence of Tuberculosis Infection and Associated Risk Factors From African Cattle: Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis

INTRODUCTION: Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is a chronic zoonotic disease affecting cattle of all age groups, including wild animals. The objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to provide a comprehensive and unbiased summary on the distribution of bTB and its associated risk factors in Africa. METHODS: We gathered and systematically reviewed literature concerning the prevalence of bTB in Africa, published in English from January 2000 to October 2024 in three databases, and a meta-analysis was conducted using the Comprehensive Meta-Analysis software. A total of 513 studies were retrieved, and at the end of the screening, 30 full texts were eligible for inclusion in the meta-analysis. RESULTS: The results of this study revealed an overall pooled prevalence estimate (PPE) of bTB in Africa was 6.9%, with a higher burden being in Nigeria (9.2%) and Ethiopia (6.7%), respectively. Furthermore, immunoassays had a PPE of 31.9%. The results further showed that milk samples had the highest PPE with 17.9%. Our multivariable regression showed that overall bTB may be associated with the breed and body condition score (BCS). However, exploratory univariable regression showed that bTB may be associated with the Fulani breed, semi-intensive production level and medium herd size. CONCLUSION: The current research findings enable African nations to adopt targeted, cost-effective and sustainable bTB control strategies that are more likely to succeed than generic, one-size-fits-all programs by mapping prevalence, identifying risk factors and understanding socio-economic contexts.