Epidemiology of Q fever in Iran: A systematic review and meta-analysis for estimating serological and molecular prevalence

Background: q fever is endemic in iran,thus,we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis on epidemiology of coxiella burnetii among humans and animals in iran. materials and methods: a systematic search was performed to identify all articles reporting c. burnetii prevalence in iranian humans or animals,published from january 2000 to january 2015. data from articles were extracted,and a pooled estimate of prevalence with corresponding 95% confidence interval (ci) was calculated using random effect method. results: in this review,27 papers were identified. the pooled seroprevalence of q fever in animals was 27% (ci 95%: 23%-32%). the prevalence was 33% (ci 95%: 22%-45%) in goats,27% (ci 95%: 21%-32%) in sheep,and 17% (ci 95%: 5%-28%) in cattle. the bacterial dna was detected in 5% (95% ci: 3%-9%) of milk samples,and it was higher in cattle (10%; 95% ci: 6%-16%) than sheep (2%; 95% ci: 0-7%) and goats (4%; 95% ci: 0-12%). conclusion: c. burnetii dna or its antibody has been frequently detected among ruminants. since these animals can transmit the infection to humans,q fever could be a potential health problem in iran. © 2017 journal of research in medical sciences.