In the recent past, sub-Saharan Africa has not escaped the devastating effects of avian influenza virus (AIV) in poultry and wild birds. This systematic review describes the prevalence, spatiotemporal distribution, and virus subtypes detected in domestic and wild birds for the past two decades (2000–2019). We collected data from three electronic databases, PubMed, SpringerLink electronic journals and African Journals Online, using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses protocol. A total of 1656 articles were reviewed, from which 68 were selected. An overall prevalence of 3.0% AIV in birds was observed. The prevalence varied between regions and ranged from 1.1% to 7.1%. The Kruskal–Wallis and Wilcoxon signed-rank sum test showed no significant difference in the prevalence of AIV across regions, χ²(3) = 5.237, p = 0.1553 and seasons, T = 820, z = −1.244, p = 0.2136. Nineteen hemagglutinin/neuraminidase subtype combinations were detected during the reviewed period, with southern Africa recording more diverse AIV subtypes than other regions. The most detected subtype was H5N1, followed by H9N2, H5N2, H5N8 and H6N2. Whilst these predominant subtypes were mostly detected in domestic poultry, H1N6, H3N6, H4N6, H4N8, H9N1 and H11N9 were exclusively detected in wild birds. Meanwhile, H5N1, H5N2 and H5N8 were detected in both wild and domestic birds suggesting circulation of these subtypes among wild and domestic birds. Our findings provide critical information on the eco-epidemiology of AIVs that can be used to improve surveillance strategies for the prevention and control of avian influenza in sub-Saharan Africa.

中文翻译：

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撒哈拉以南非洲鸟类中发现的禽流感病毒：系统评价。

在最近的过去，撒哈拉以南非洲地区尚未摆脱禽流感病毒对禽类和野生鸟类的破坏性影响。该系统评价描述了过去二十年（2000-2019年）在家禽和野禽中发现的流行率，时空分布和病毒亚型。我们使用系统评价的首选报告项目和Meta分析协议，从PubMed，SpringerLink电子期刊和《非洲在线期刊》三个电子数据库中收集了数据。共审查了1656篇文章，从中选择了68篇。观察到禽类中禽流感的总体患病率为3.0％。不同地区的患病率不同，范围从1.1％到7.1％。Kruskal–Wallis和Wilcoxon符号秩和检验表明，跨地区的AIV患病率无显着差异，χ²（3）= 5.237，p = 0.1553和季节，T = 820，z = -1.244，p= 0.2136。在本报告所述期间，共检测到19种血凝素/神经氨酸酶亚型组合，南部非洲的AIV亚型比其他地区记录的多。检测到最多的亚型是H5N1，其次是H9N2，H5N2，H5N8和H6N2。这些主要的亚型主要在家禽中发现，而H1N6，H3N6，H4N6，H4N8，H9N1和H11N9仅在野禽中发现。同时，在野禽和家禽中均检测到H5N1，H5N2和H5N8，表明这些亚型在野禽和家禽之间循环。我们的发现提供了有关AIV的生态流行病学的重要信息，这些信息可用于改善撒哈拉以南非洲预防和控制禽流感的监测策略。