Prevalence and associated economic losses of bovine fasciolosis from postmortem inspection in municipal abattoirs in Ethiopia: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Fasciolosis is a prevalent disease that significantly affects the health and productivity of cattle and causes significant economic loss. Beyond individually available studies with varying prevalence rates, there are no pooled national prevalence studies on bovine fasciolosis. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to determine the combined magnitude and economic significance of fasciolosis among cattle on postmortem examination. Inverse variance (I²), sensitivity analysis, funnel plots, Begg's test, and Egger's regression test were used to assess heterogeneity and publication bias. A random-effects model was used to calculate the pooled burden of fasciolosis among cattle. The pooled prevalence of fasciolosis among cattle on postmortem examination was 31.77 % (95 % CI=27.82–35.71). Among a total of 14,965 livers of slaughtered cattle examined in municipal abattoirs, Fasciola hepatica (54.4 %) was the predominant fluke identified compared to F. gigantica (24.6 %). Mixed infections of both species and unidentified immature flukes were detected in 12.4 % and 7.6 %, respectively, of affected livers. Regarding the severity of the pathological lesions observed, 30.5 %, 44.3 %, and 25.2 % of the livers were lightly, moderately, and seriously infested, respectively. The pooled annual economic loss attributed to fasciolosis-associated liver condemnation among cattle in 40 reported studies was approximately 40,833,983.15 ETB (6,417, 847.73 USD). Therefore, bovine fasciolosis requires integrated control methods to address its influence on animal health and economic impact.