Vet World   Vol.18   November-2025  Article - 13 

Global seroprevalence and distribution of Getah virus in domestic and wild animals: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background and Aim: Getah virus (GETV), a mosquito-borne alphavirus of veterinary importance, has caused periodic outbreaks in domestic animals, especially in Asia. Although several studies have reported evidence of infection in animals, the overall global seroprevalence remains unclear. This study aimed to comprehensively synthesize available evidence on the worldwide seroprevalence of GETV in domestic and wild animals and identify epidemiological patterns across host types, regions, and detection methods.

Materials and Methods: A systematic search of PubMed, Scopus, ScienceDirect, and Web of Science was conducted following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses 2020 guidelines, without temporal or regional restrictions. Eligible studies reporting serological detection of GETV antibodies in animal populations were included. Data were extracted and analyzed using a DerSimonian–Laird random-effects model, with subgroup analyses stratified by country, host category, sampling period, and diagnostic method. Heterogeneity was quantified using I2 statistics, and potential publication bias was assessed with funnel plots and Egger’s regression test.

Results: Fifteen studies (n = 10,211 animals) met the inclusion criteria. The pooled global seroprevalence of GETV was 33.3% (95% confidence interval: 24.2–43.9; I2 = 98.65%, p < 0.001). Malaysia reported the highest seroprevalence (77.2%), followed by China (41.8%) and South Korea (26.4%). Domestic animals (34.0%) exhibited higher exposure than wild species (29.2%), with pigs (43.1%) and cattle (43.2%) recording the highest rates. Studies using virus-neutralization tests yielded higher estimates (47.3%) than those employing enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (31.4%) or hemagglutination inhibition (7.3%). Meta-regression revealed study location and diagnostic method as significant sources of heterogeneity.

Conclusion: This meta-analysis demonstrates that GETV is endemic among Asian animal populations, particularly domestic livestock, indicating substantial virus circulation across species. The findings underscore the need for enhanced veterinary surveillance, standardized serological testing, and One Health-oriented monitoring frameworks to detect and mitigate GETV transmission risks. The absence of data from Africa, Europe, and the Americas highlights an urgent need for geographically expanded research to better understand the virus’s global distribution and zoonotic potential.

Keywords: alphavirus, domestic animals, Getah virus, meta-analysis, seroprevalence, wild animals.

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How to cite this article: Irekeola AA, and Shueb RH (2025) Global seroprevalence and distribution of Getah virus in domestic and wild animals: A systematic review and meta-analysis, Veterinary World, 18(11): 3464-3475.

Received: 15-06-2025   Accepted: 17-10-2025   Published online: 23-11-2025

Corresponding author: Rafidah Hanim Shueb    E-mail: hanimshueb@gmail.com

DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2025.3464-3475

Copyright: Irekeola and Shueb, 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.