Johne's disease in Iran: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Information available for decision-making and adoption of appropriate policies to control paratuberculosis in most countries is based on published data in developed countries. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the status of Johne's disease in Iran in a meta-analysis method to provide comprehensive and accurate information to implement effective programs to control the disease. This search is a systematic review based on authoritative databases inside and outside the country. The search was carried out by keywords of Iran, Johne's disease, cattle, sheep, goats, camels, buffaloes, milk, semen fluid, and their combination. Then all articles and theses that had necessary indexes were evaluated. The Data were analyzed using Comprehensive Meta-analysis software Version 2. The prevalence of Johne's disease in ruminants was 6.1% (95% CI: 4.4-8.5). In addition, the rate of infection for bulk tank milk, individual cow milk and semen fluid was 28.3% (95% CI: 1.1-93.2), 20.4% (95% CI: 13.4-30.2) and 11.4% (95% CI: 7.6-16.7), respectively. Unfortunately, despite the great population of ruminants in the country and the higher infection rate of paratubeculosis in Iran compared with developed countries, the current strategies for control of paratuberculosis are voluntary and considered by ranchers. Basic control strategies are management modification, testing, culling and vaccination, and implementation of these programs can be effective in control of the disease occurrence in Iran.