Global prevalence and risk factors of equine infectious anemia: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Vet World Vol.18 June-2025 Article - 5

Systematic Review

Veterinary World, 18(6): 1440-1451

https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2025.1440-1451

Lintang Winantya Firdausy^1,2

, Faisal Fikri^1,2

, Arya Pradana Wicaksono³

, Hakan Çalışkan⁴

, and Muhammad Thohawi Elziyad Purnama^1,2,5

1. Division of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Health and Life Sciences, Faculty of Health, Medicine, and Life Sciences, Universitas Airlangga, Banyuwangi, East Java, 68425, Indonesia.

2. Research Group of Animal Biomedical and Conservation, Faculty of Health, Medicine, and Life Sciences, Universitas Airlangga, Banyuwangi, East Java, 68425, Indonesia.

3. Animal Health Division, Indonesian Horse Veterinarian Association, Surabaya, East Java, 60115, Indonesia.

4. Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Eskisehir Osmangazi University, Eskisehir, 26040, Turkey.

5. Department of Biology, Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Eskisehir Osmangazi University, Eskisehir, 26040, Turkey.

Background and Aim: Equine infectious anemia (EIA) is a lentiviral disease affecting members of the Equidae family, with global distribution and significant implications for animal health and biosecurity. Despite numerous individual reports, a comprehensive synthesis of its global prevalence and risk factors remains lacking. This study aimed to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to estimate the global prevalence of EIA, identify diagnostic trends, and evaluate factors associated with heterogeneity across studies.

Materials and Methods: A systematic search was conducted in six major databases (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, Cochrane Library, and ProQuest), yielding 312 records. After Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses-guided screening, 29 eligible studies published between 1975 and 2024 were included in the study. Meta-analysis was performed using R Studio (version 4.4.2) employing a random-effects model. Subgroup analyses and meta-regression were conducted to explore heterogeneity across host species, continent, diagnostic method, and study period. Publication bias was assessed through funnel plots and Egger’s test.

Results: The global pooled prevalence of EIA was estimated at 20.97% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 11.08–30.85), with substantial heterogeneity (I2 = 99.3%). South America reported the highest regional prevalence (27.21%), while horses showed the greatest susceptibility among Equidae (25.40%). Diagnostic methods varied, with agar gel immunodiffusion being the most commonly used (18.62% prevalence detection). A declining trend in prevalence (2.19%–28.70%) was noted from 2015 to 2022. No significant publication bias was detected. Meta-regression revealed that climate and study period partially explained the heterogeneity.

Conclusion: This study highlights the substantial global burden and diagnostic variability of EIA, emphasizing the need for enhanced surveillance in endemic areas, standardized diagnostic protocols, and strengthened quarantine practices. Expanding serological monitoring in underrepresented regions and integrating climatic and ecological data into control strategies are vital for mitigating EIA transmission risks.

Keywords: agar gel immunodiffusion, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, Equidae, equine infectious anemia, global prevalence, infectious disease, lentivirus, meta-analysis, seroepidemiology.

How to cite this article: Firdausy LW, Fikri F, Wicaksono AP, Çalışkan H, and Purnama MTE (2025) Global prevalence and risk factors of equine infectious anemia: A systematic review and meta-analysis, Veterinary World, 18(6): 1440-1451.

Received: 07-03-2025 Accepted: 13-05-2025 Published online: 06-06-2025

Corresponding author: Muhammad Thohawi Elziyad Purnama E-mail: thohawi@fkh.unair.ac.id

DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2025.1440-1451

Copyright: Firdausy, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.