A meta-analysis of the global prevalence of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolated from clinical and subclinical bovine mastitis.

Abstract

AIMS\nThis meta-analysis aims to assess the point prevalence of MRSA isolated from bovine mastitis cases at the global level.\n\n\nMETHODS AND RESULTS\nSeveral electronic databases were searched for relevant publications (PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Knowledge and Cochrane Library). Heterogeneity between studies was assessed using the Cochrane Q test and\xa0I2 \xa0test statistics based on the random-effect model. The potential sources of between-study heterogeneity were evaluated using subgroup analysis and meta-regression. Sensitivity and publication bias analyses were performed. Sixty-six studies with a total of 77644 mastitis cases were eligible and included in the analysis. The overall pooled prevalence of MRSA was 4.30% (95% CI, 3.24-5.50) with a significant heterogeneity (I2 = 97.48%,\xa0p\xa0< 0.001). In the subgroup analysis by region, the highest prevalence was found in Asia (6.47%, 95% CI, 4.33-8.97), and the lowest prevalence was reported in Europe (1.18%, 95% CI: 0.18- 2.83). The pooled prevalence was significantly higher in clinical mastitis and cases published during 2016-2020.\n\n\nCONCLUSIONS\nThe results of this study suggest that there is a lower prevalence of MRSA in bovine mastitis. However, its prevalence increased in the past four years. Therefore, continuous surveillance is urgently required for monitoring the dissemination of these clinically important bacteria.\n\n\nSIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY\nTo our knowledge, this is the first meta-analysis to estimate the global prevalence of MRSA isolated from bovine mastitis cases.