Distribution and Prevalence of , and in African Ticks: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

In Africa, ticks continue to be a major hindrance to the improvement of the livestock industry due to tick-borne pathogens that include , and species. A systemic review and meta-analysis were conducted here and highlighted the distribution and prevalence of these tick-borne pathogens in African ticks. Relevant publications were searched in five electronic databases and selected using inclusion/exclusion criteria, resulting in 138 and 78 papers included in the qualitative and quantitative analysis, respectively. Most of the studies focused on (38 studies), followed by (27 studies), (20 studies) and (17 studies). A meta-analysis of proportions was performed using the random-effects model. The highest prevalence was obtained for spp. (18.39%; 95% CI: 14.23-22.85%), (13.47%; 95% CI: 2.76-28.69%), (11.28%; 95% CI: 1.77-25.89%), (12.75%; 95% CI: 4.06-24.35%), (6.37%; 95% CI: 3.97-9.16%) and (4.3%; 95% CI: 0.04-12.66%). The prevalence of was low (0%; 95% CI: 0-0.25%), with higher prevalence for spp. (27.02%; 95% CI: 10.83-46.03%) and -like endosymbionts (70.47%; 95% CI: 27-99.82%). The effect of the tick genera, tick species, country and other variables were identified and highlighted the epidemiology of ticks in the heartwater; affinity of each species for different tick genera; dominant distribution of , and -like endosymbionts in ticks and a low distribution of in African hard ticks.