Publication date: Sep 01, 2026
Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is a zoonotic disease caused by members of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC), with Mycobacterium bovis being the primary agent responsible for infections in cattle, posing a significant threat to the global dairy industry. Although the COVID-19 pandemic during the 2020-2025 period may have disrupted its epidemiology, a comprehensive global meta-analysis of bTB prevalence and risk factors in dairy cattle for this period is currently lacking. We conducted an extensive literature search across multiple databases, including CNKI, PubMed, ScienceDirect, VIP, and Wan Fang. A total of 4783 records were initially identified, of which 45 studies met the inclusion criteria, encompassing 468,769 dairy cattle across 10 countries. The global pooled bTB prevalence was 6. 9% (95% CI: 4. 4-9. 9). Africa had the highest regional prevalence (12. 4%, 95% CI: 6. 6-19. 7), and Ethiopia the highest among countries (16. 6%, 95% CI: 7. 8-27. 9). Low-income countries showed higher prevalence (16. 7%, 95% CI: 8. 9-26. 3) than others. Rapid antibody tests yielded significantly higher infection rates (24. 8%, 95% CI: 9. 7-44. 1) than other diagnostic methods. Prevalence differed significantly between lactating and non-lactating cows (p
| Concepts | Keywords |
|---|---|
| Animals | |
| Bovine tuberculosis | |
| Cattle | |
| COVID-19 | |
| Dairy cattle | |
| Dairying | |
| Female | |
| Meta-analysis | |
| Prevalence | |
| Prevalence | |
| Risk Factors | |
| Risk factors | |
| Tuberculosis, Bovine |
Semantics
| Type | Source | Name |
|---|---|---|
| disease | MESH | bovine tuberculosis |
| disease | MESH | zoonotic disease |
| disease | MESH | tuberculosis |
| pathway | KEGG | Tuberculosis |
| disease | MESH | infections |
| disease | MESH | COVID-19 pandemic |
| drug | DRUGBANK | Methionine |