Iraqi Journal of Veterinary Sciences

Abstract

The current study was designed to examine the evidence and knowledge gaps in studies investigated abortion in ewes in Nineveh, Iraq, and quantify the overall incidence of abortion and prevalence of potential infectious etiology of abortion. PubMed, CABI, and Google Scholar databases were used as search engines to track pertinent peer-reviewed studies. Additional relevant articles were identified by reviewing the reference lists of identified full-text articles and contacting colleagues worked on pertinent topic. Identified studies were divided into two main groups including studies reported abortion rate in ewes and studies reported potential infectious etiology of abortion in ewes. A meta-analysis was performed for each group. A total of 17 studies were qualified for review including 6 studies reported abortion rate. All of the 17 studies examined the prevalence of potential etiology of abortion. The overall incidence of abortion was 7.32%, and the pooled prevalence of potential infectious etiology of abortion indicated that 51.43%, 31.92%, and 6.83% was for Toxoplasma gondii, Brucella spp., and other pathogens, respectively. In conclusion, it is important to identify epicenters of abortion in Nineveh, the association between incidence of abortion and parity, the effect of pregnancy season on incidence of abortion, and to confirm that the prevalence of T. gondii in aborted ewes is high.