Abstract
BackgroundTrypanosomosis caused by Trypanosoma vivax is one of the diseases threatening the health and productivity of livestock in Africa and Latin America. Trypanosoma vivax is mainly transmitted by tsetse flies; however, the parasite has also acquired the ability to be transmitted mechanically by hematophagous dipterans. Understanding its distribution, host range and prevalence is a key step in local and global efforts to control the disease.MethodsThe study was conducted according to the methodological recommendations of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) checklist. A systematic literature search was conducted on three search engines, namely PubMed, Scopus and CAB Direct, to identify all publications reporting natural infection of T. vivax across the world. All the three search engines were screened using the search term Trypanosoma vivax without time and language restrictions. Publications on T. vivax that met our inclusion criteria were considered for systematic review and meta-analysis.ResultThe study provides a global database of T. vivax, consisting of 899 records from 245 peer-reviewed articles in 41 countries. A total of 232, 6277 tests were performed on 97 different mammalian hosts, including a wide range of wild animals. Natural infections of T. vivax were recorded in 39 different African and Latin American countries and 47 mammalian host species. All the 245 articles were included into the qualitative analysis, while information from 186 cross-sectional studies was used in the quantitative analysis mainly to estimate the pooled prevalence. Pooled prevalence estimates of T. vivax in domestic buffalo, cattle, dog, dromedary camel, equine, pig, small ruminant and wild animals were 30.6%, 6.4%, 2.6%, 8.4%, 3.7%, 5.5%, 3.8% and 12.9%, respectively. Stratified according to the diagnostic method, the highest pooled prevalences were found with serological techniques in domesticated buffalo (57.6%) followed by equine (50.0%) and wild animals (49.3%).ConclusionThe study provides a comprehensive dataset on the geographical distribution and host range of T. vivax and demonstrates the potential of this parasite to invade other countries out of Africa and Latin America.Graphical
Highlights
Trypanosomes are protozoan parasites belonging to the family of Trypanosomatidae and the genus Trypanosoma (T.)
The study provides a comprehensive dataset on the geographical distribution and host range of T. vivax and demonstrates the potential of this parasite to invade other countries out of Africa and Latin America
All relevant data from these articles were recorded, according to diagnostic method and host species, in a Microsoft Excel file, containing 899 records used in the meta-analysis (Additional file 1)
Summary
Trypanosomes are protozoan parasites belonging to the family of Trypanosomatidae and the genus Trypanosoma (T.). The genus Trypanosoma comprises many species such as T. brucei, T. congolense, T. equiperdum, T. evansi, T. simiae, T. suis and T. vivax, which cause diseases called trypanosomoses in different mammalian hosts including humans [1]. In Sub-Saharan Africa, T. vivax is mainly transmitted by tsetse flies (Diptera: Glossinidae) in which the parasite can multiply and remain infective throughout the insect’s life [14]. The parasite has the ability to be transmitted mechanically by hematophagous flies such as Tabanus spp., Stomoxys calcitrans and Haematobia irritans, which are responsible for the spread of T. vivax in tsetse-free areas of Africa and in Latin America [4, 15–18]. Trypanosomosis caused by Trypanosoma vivax is one of the diseases threatening the health and productivity of livestock in Africa and Latin America. Trypanosoma vivax is mainly transmitted by tsetse flies; the parasite has acquired the ability to be transmitted mechanically by hematophagous dipterans. Understanding its distribution, host range and prevalence is a key step in local and global efforts to control the disease
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