Prevalence of Brucellosis in Small Ruminants in Africa from 2000 to 2025: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Brucellosis remains a critical zoonotic threat to public health and livestock economies globally, particularly constraining small ruminant productivity in Africa, yet continental data remain scarce. The objectives of this review are to provide apparent small ruminant brucellosis prevalence/positivity estimates across Africa by country, region, continent, and diagnostic modality. A systematic search was conducted on PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar for articles published from 2000 to 2025. Data from 151 eligible studies representing 28 countries were extracted and meta-analyzed. Due to extreme heterogeneity (I² > 97%), a single continental pooled estimate is not epidemiologically meaningful. For descriptive reference, Africa's apparent pooled seroprevalence was 4.9% (95% CI: 3.0-7.5%; prediction interval: 0.1-32.1%), and pooled PCR positivity was 12.7% (95% CI: 6.0-21.9%; prediction interval: 0.8-38.9%). Descriptive regional seroprevalence ranged from 3.3% (95% CI: 1.2-7.4%) (West Africa) to 6.2% (95% CI: 3.8-9.4%) (East Africa). Country-level crude seroprevalence ranged from 0.18% (Morocco) to 19.53% (Libya), with diagnostic method prevalence ranging from 3.37% (2-Mercaptoethanol (2-ME)) to 21.54% (Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS)). Both B. abortus and B. melitensis are reported with significant variations. Data absence from several African countries highlights a critical knowledge gap. We propose multi-level prevention and control strategies.