Table 3.
Prevalence of Dirofilaria immitis in canines according to year, host, location, gender, age and diagnostic method in Iran up to 1 December 2019
| Subgroup variable | Prevalence (95% CI) | I2 (%) | Heterogeneity (Q) | P value | Interaction test (X2) | P value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | ||||||
| <2011 | 11.58 (7.37–16.60) | 84% | 62.5 | P < 0.001 | 177.1 | P < 0.001 |
| ⩾2011 | 16.25 (10.23–23.35) | 96% | 596.4 | P < 0.001 | ||
| Host | ||||||
| Wild Canines | 10.72 (6.59–15.70) | 0% | 0.2 | P = 0.963 | 123.9 | P < 0.001 |
| Owned dogs | 6.61 (3.46–10.68) | 88.1% | 84.2 | P < 0.001 | ||
| Stray dogs | 20.92 (13.84–29.03) | 95.6% | 453.7 | P < 0.001 | ||
| Location | ||||||
| North | 13.59 (7.29–21.46) | 88.3% | 59.6 | P < 0.001 | 123.1 | P < 0.001 |
| South | 6.10 (3.40–9.51) | 65.1% | 11.4 | P = 0.021 | ||
| East | 9.03 (3.15–17.52) | 92% | 74.5 | P < 0.001 | ||
| West | 25.29 (14.44–37.99) | 95.4% | 173.1 | P < 0.001 | ||
| Centre | 20.60 (5.93–41.13) | 96.7% | 121.1 | P < 0.001 | ||
| Gender | ||||||
| Male | 10.07 (5.10–16.47) | 87.9% | 99.4 | P < 0.001 | 89.1 | P = 0.131 |
| Female | 9.23 (3.68–16.97) | 87.3% | 86.9 | P < 0.001 | ||
| Age | ||||||
| <1 Year old | 8.40 (0.01– 32.00) | 77% | 13.0 | P = 0.004 | 10.8 | P = 0.006 |
| ⩾1 Year old | 20.77 (8.66–36.42) | 90.1% | 40.5 | P < 0.001 | ||
| Diagnostic method | ||||||
| Serological | 16.95 (4.98–34.08) | 96.6% | 146.9 | P < 0.001 | 110.0 | P = 0.010 |
| Microscopic | 13.86 (9.46– 18.94) | 92% | 286.0 | P < 0.001 | ||
| PCR | 16.09 (3.51–35.38) | 97.7% | 215.8 | P < 0.001 | ||