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. 2026 Jan 14;12(1):e70788. doi: 10.1002/vms3.70788

Prevalence of Ixodid Tick Infestation Among Small Ruminants in Ethiopia: A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis

Abayeneh Girma 1,✉, Indiris Abdu 1, Anchiye Getachew 1
PMCID: PMC12800910  PMID: 41532261

ABSTRACT

Background

Tick infestation and tick‐borne diseases remain a major threat to small ruminant production in Sub‐Saharan Africa. In Ethiopia, favourable ecological and climatic conditions promote the survival of ixodid ticks, yet no systematic evidence has summarized their overall prevalence in sheep and goats.

Methods

Following the PRISMA 2020 guideline, a systematic search was conducted in databases (ScienceDirect, Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, Wiley Online Library and African Journals Online) and other sources (Google Scholar and Google Engine). Studies published between January 2012 and August 2023 were included. A random‐effects model was applied to estimate pooled prevalence with 95% confidence interval (CI). Heterogeneity was quantified using the I 2 statistic, and sources of heterogeneity were explored via subgroup analyses and a Galbraith plot. Publication bias was evaluated using funnel plots and Egger's test.

Results

Seventeen studies involving 11,284 small ruminants (4787 sheep and 6497 goats) from seven regions of Ethiopia were included. The pooled prevalence of ixodid tick infestation was 49.95% (95% CI: 37.67–62.22). Infestation was slightly higher in sheep (50.88%; 95% CI: 38.99–62.77) than in goats (46.59%; 95% CI: 30.18–63.00), although the difference was not statistically significant. Among 21,429 ticks identified, Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) was the most prevalent genus (52.8%), followed by Amblyomma (34.9%) and Hyalomma (12.2%), while Haemaphysalis was the least common (0.02%). Regional variation was considerable, with the highest prevalence in the Somali region (81.9%) and the lowest in Afar (36.6%).

Conclusion

Ixodid ticks are highly prevalent among small ruminants in Ethiopia and pose a continuing risk to productivity and health. Control strategies should prioritize Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) and target high‐prevalence regions such as Somali and Dire Dawa. Future research should investigate breed susceptibility, disease associations and integrated control options.

Keywords: Ethiopia, goats, ixodid tick, sheep, small ruminants, tick infestation

This systematic review and meta‐analysis reveal a high overall prevalence of ixodid tick infestation among sheep and goats across Ethiopia. Significant regional variation was observed, with the highest burden in the eastern parts of the country. The findings highlight ixodid ticks as a major threat to small ruminant health and productivity, underscoring the need for targeted tick control strategies.

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1. Introduction

Livestock production, including small ruminants (sheep and goats), is one of the most profitable agribusiness activities worldwide, and Africa is the second‐leading continent with the population of 352 and 388 million sheep and goats (FAOSTAT 2018). Of which, Ethiopia contributes 38 million sheep and 46 million goats (CSA 2021), playing an important role in the livelihood of poor farmers for immediate sources of cash, milk, meat, wool, manure and risk management strategies.

Globally, livestock production and its contributions are below the expected potential due to several constraints that hindrance. Ectoparasites are among the one and approximately 1.49 billion livestock worldwide are susceptible to infestation with diverse ectoparasite fauna (De León et al. 2020), of which arthropods such as insects, mites and ticks represent the most economically important ectoparasites with direct (associated with heavy infestations) and indirect (through transmission of disease) effects on sheep and goats health and productivity. Skin diseases caused by the direct effects of these ectoparasites are among the major causes of serious economic loss (Zeryehun and Atomsa 2012).

The global population of ticks that are distributed in tropics and subtropics regions consists of haematophagous ectoparasites, which belong to the Argasidae (soft ticks) and Ixodidae (hard ticks) families (Guglielmone et al. 2010). When ticks are attached to a host for a blood meal, various effects can result in severe losses due to tick concern, loss of blood, induce anaemia, general stress and irritation, depression of immune function, damage to hides and skins and the introduction of toxins since, some of the tick species cause paralysis (Uilenberg 1995). However, the economic losses caused by ticks stem primarily from the zoonotic pathogens they transmit, which can also pose a serious threat to public health (da le Fluenta et al. 2008). The prevalence of tick‐borne diseases varies considerably in small ruminants across Ethiopia, with considerably higher prevalence in sheep when compared to goats (Gebrekidan et al. 2014). Moreover, ticks are the vectors and reservoirs of viruses, bacteria, protozoa and filarial nematodes that can cause diseases (Ajileye et al. 2025).

The epidemiology of the tick infestations and vectorial potential of the ticks are likely to change, and failure to control tick infestations is considered a major factor limiting the sustainable livestock production worldwide, with the changing environmental conditions due to global warming (Gilbert 2021). Tick species belonging to the genera Amblyomma, Rhipicephalus and Hyalomma are the predominately recovered and identified ticks infesting small ruminants across the African continent. Similarly, in Ethiopia, Amblyomma, Rhipicephalus (Boophilus), Hyalomma and Haemaphysalis are the prevalent tick genera reported across all agro‐ecological areas (Shichibi et al. 2017).

Ethiopia's diverse climatic and agro‐ecological conditions favour tick proliferation and year‐round infestation. Several local surveys have documented ixodid tick prevalence in different regions; however, findings vary widely by geography, species and study design. Previously, one meta‐analysis was conducted on ixodid tick prevalence among cattle in Ethiopia (Girma et al. 2024). However, to date, no comprehensive systematic review and meta‐analysis has synthesized the burden of ixodid ticks in Ethiopian sheep and goats. This study aims to estimate the pooled prevalence of ixodid tick infestation among small ruminants in Ethiopia, identify the most prevalent tick genera, and highlight regional and species‐specific differences. Generating such consolidated evidence is crucial for designing effective control strategies and reducing the impact of ticks on small ruminant production and public health.

2. Materials and Methods

The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analysis (PRISMA) guideline was strictly followed to document this systematic review and meta‐analysis (Page et al. 2021) (Supporting Information S1, showing the filled PRISMA 2020 Checklist).

2.1. Study Area

Ethiopia exists as a landlocked country in the African Horn, spreading across 1,104,300 km2. Ethiopia borders six countries through its national boundaries: Djibouti and Somalia to the east, Kenya to the south, Sudan and South Sudan to the west and Eritrea to the north (Girma et al. 2025). Ethiopia leads Africa in livestock populations and ranks 10th globally with a total of 66 million cattle, 38 million sheep, 46 million goats, 56.06 million chickens, 2.14 million horses, 10 million donkeys, 0.36 million mules, 7 million camels and 6.52 million hives (CSA 2021). It is characterized by diverse geographical features, ranging from highland plateaus to lowland deserts, and is home to a wide variety of ruminants. The highlighted section of the map in Figure 1 shows the seven regions of Ethiopia included in the current systematic review and meta‐analysis.

FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 1

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Map of study area regions included in the current systematic review and meta‐analysis study.

2.2. Eligibility Criteria

The inclusion criteria depend on the outcome variable used by authors to extract prevalence data on ixodid ticks among small ruminants in Ethiopia (Table 1).

TABLE 1.

The eligibility criteria of the included articles.

Included studies Excluded studies

  1. Cross‐sectional studies conducted in Ethiopia, reported the prevalence of ixodid ticks among small ruminants (both sheep and goat) in English language, and published from January 2012 to August 2023.

  2. Studies reported sample size, cases or prevalence.

  1. Reviews, qualitative and randomized studies, case reports, correspondence, proceedings or letters to the editor.

  2. Studies conducted in other domestic animals other than sheep and goats.

  3. Studies conducted outside Ethiopia, reported other tick families as well as inaccessible works.
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2.3. Search Strategy

International online databases (ScienceDirect, Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, Wiley Online Library and African Journals Online) and other sources (Google Engine and Google Scholar) were checked for published articles on the prevalence of ixodid ticks among small ruminants in Ethiopia up to January 2025, which were accessed and incorporated. ‘Prevalence’, ‘magnitude’, ‘tick burden’, ‘small ruminants’, ‘sheep’, ‘ovine’, ‘goat’, ‘caprine’, ‘tick’, ‘hard tick’, ‘ixodid tick’, ‘tick infestation’, ‘Rhipicephalus (Boophilus)’, ‘Amblyomma’, ‘Hyalomma’ and ‘Ethiopia’ were search words used in combination or separately with Boolean operators (Supporting Information S2).

2.4. Study Selection and Quality Appraisal

Version X9 of EndNote software was used to exclude more than one downloaded article, and then IA and AnG independently screened the titles and abstracts of each article following the pre‐defined inclusion criteria. Then, articles that met these criteria underwent a thorough full‐text evaluation, as illustrated in the PRISMA flowchart (Figure 2). The authors resolved their dispute through discussion with the third author (AbG). Then, after, the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) checklist for prevalence study (Munn et al. 2017) quality appraisal was applied as presented in Supporting Information S3 with nine criteria.

FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 2

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PRISMA‐2020 flow diagram showing full article selection process with reasons of its exclusion from the current study.

2.5. Data Extraction

The data extraction format of Excel 2016 included the first author's name, the article's publication year, the region studied, study design, sampling method, total number of cattle examined (sample size), number of cattle infected (cases), prevalence, ixodid tick genera and total number of adult ticks.

2.6. Data Analysis

We employed a random‐effects model for the analysis and used the I 2 statistic to quantify heterogeneity among the studies. In addition, subgroup analyses based on study region, species, sample size, sampling method and year of publication were performed to explore possible sources of heterogeneity. Statistical heterogeneity was quantified using the I 2 statistic, and was interpreted as follows: low (0%–25%), moderate (25%–50%), substantial (50%–75%) and considerable (75%–100%) heterogeneity. A Galbraith plot is also used to assess heterogeneity and identify outliers among the included studies. Furthermore, funnel plots and regression‐based Egger's tests were used to assess publication bias. A p‐value < 0.05 in the Egger's test was considered evidence of statistically significant publication bias. Sensitivity analyses were performed to evaluate the influence of individual studies on the overall effect size. The analysis was conducted using Stata version 14 software.

3. Results

3.1. Selection of Studies

The full selection process of the articles with reasons for their exclusion is presented in detail in Figure 2. A total of 78 articles were identified, and 18 duplicates were removed. After title and abstract screening and full‐text assessment of the remaining articles, another 31 studies were excluded. Then, during the retrieval checking, one article was not a full‐text accessed. Moreover, 11 articles were removed due to different reasons (see Figure 2), and finally, 17 articles met the eligibility criteria.

3.2. Characteristics of the Included Studies

All of the included articles were cross‐sectional studies (Abunna et al. 2012; Eyob and Matios 2014; Desalegn et al. 2015; Mohammed and Admasu 2015; Seyoum et al. 2015; Ahmed et al. 2017; Mengistu et al. 2018; Moliso et al. 2018; Abera and Gebrewahd 2019; Daniel et al. 2019; Feki et al. 2020; Habtemichael et al. 2020; Kassa et al. 2020; Mandado and Bazabhie 2021; Mathewos et al. 2021; Jewaro and Mustefa 2023; Tamrat et al. 2023). The current study incorporates seven regions of Ethiopia, and the highest number of studies were from the Oromia region (five studies) and followed Southern Nations, Nationalities and People's Region (SNNPR, four studies); three studies were from the Amhara region, and two studies were from the Somali region, whereas the Tigray, Dire Dawa and Afar regions each contributed only one study. Thirteen studies used a simple random sampling method; three studies applied systematic random selection, and the remaining one used proportional sampling (proportional to population size), and a total of 11,248 small ruminants were included. The incorporated articles consist of a maximum of 5376 and a minimum of 245 participants, and 14 studies were conducted by incorporating 384 and above participants, and the remaining were conducted with less than 384 sample size. The prevalence of ixodid ticks among included studies ranged from 10.05% to 87.76%. Five, nine and three studies were conducted a year between 2012–2015, 2017–2020 and 2021–2023, respectively (Table 2).

TABLE 2.

The general features of the included articles.

Sample size Cases Prevalence (%)
Included studies Region Sampling techniques Sheep Goat Total sample size Sheep Goat Total cases Sheep Goat Total prevalence (%)
Abunna et al. (2012) Oromia Simple random 330 121 451 265 80 345 80.30 66.12 76.5
Eyob and Matios (2014) Oromia Proportional sampling 136 248 384 95 242 337 69.86 97.58 87.76
Mohammed and Admasu (2015) Somali Simple random 186 198 384 152 154 306 81.7 77.8 79.7
Seyoum et al. (2015). Amhara Simple random 304 96 400 69 11 80 22.7 11.45 20
Desalegn et al. (2015). Oromia Simple random 198 150 348 20 15 35 10.1 10 10.05
Ahmed et al. (2017) D/Dawa Systematic random 188 196 384 133 145 278 70.7 73.9 72.39
Mengistu et al. (2018). Tigray Simple random 78 306 384 23 137 160 29.5 44.7 41.6
Moliso et al. (2018) SNNP Simple random 130 116 246 91 38 129 70 32.8 52.44
Daniel et al. (2019) SNNP Simple random 192 192 384 21 21 42 10.93 10.93 10.93
Abera and Gebrewahd (2019) Oromia Systematic random 190 194 384 106 82 188 55.8 42.3 48.95
Habtemichael et al. (2020) Somali Simple random 162 222 384 128 194 322 79 87.4 83.85
Kassa et al. (2020) SNNPR Simple random 171 213 384 51 57 108 29.8 26.8 28.1
Feki et al. (2020) Afar Simple random 1680 3696 5376 718 1250 1968 42.7 33.82 36.61
Mandado and Bazabhie (2021) Amhara Simple random 165 80 245 89 35 124 53.9 43.75 50.7
Mathewos et al. (2021). SNNPR Simple random 180 220 400 123 152 275 68.33 69.09 68.75
Tamrat et al. (2023) Amhara Simple random 198 198 396 109 78 187 55.05 39.39 47.22
Jewaro and Mustefa (2023) Oromia Systematic random 299 51 350 105 12 118 35.1 23.5 33.7
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Note: Eyob and Matios (2014) employed a proportional sampling strategy to determine the number of sheep and goats to be sampled (proportional to population size). Consequently, a greater number of goats were included in the study due to their predominance in the local population. The selection of individual hosts from these species was further based on herd and flock sizes.

Abbreviations: D/Dawa, Dire Dawa; SNNPR, Southern Nations, Nationalities and People's Region.

3.3. Pooled Prevalence of Ixodid Tick Infestation Among Small Ruminants in Ethiopia

The pooled proportion of ixodid tick infestation among small ruminants in Ethiopia was 49.95% (95% CI = 37.67, 62.22) with a high level of heterogeneity (I 2 = 99.5%, p < 0.001) (Figure 3).

FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 3

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Pooled proportion of ixodid tick infestation among small ruminants in Ethiopia.

3.4. Subgroup Analysis

We conducted a subgroup analysis to identify factors contributing to the variation among the studies. Subgroup analyses were conducted by considering study region, species, sample size, sampling method and year of publication of the included studies (Table 3). Accordingly, the highest pooled prevalence of ixodid tick infestation among small ruminants was recorded in the Somali region (81.86%; 95% CI: 77.79, 85.92), followed by Dire Dawa (72.39%; 95% CI: 67.94, 76.84) and the Oromia region (51.40%; 95% CI: 19.52, 83.27), while the least prevalence is observed in the Afar region (36.61%; 95% CI: 35.32, 37.90). Among small ruminant species, the prevalence of ixodid tick infestation is higher among sheep (50.88%; 95% CI: 38.99, 62.77) than goats (46.59%; 95% CI: 30.18, 63.00). A study conducted with a sample size of greater than or equal to 384 with a pooled prevalence of (50.88%; 95% CI: 36.79, 64.96) was greater than (45.49%; 95% CI: 32.99, 58.00) conducted with a sample size of less than 384. Regarding the sampling technique, the higher pooled prevalence was observed among studies selected participants proportionally (87.76%; 95% CI: 84.48, 91.05) than in studies utilizing the systematic random (51.70%; 95% CI: 29.09, 74.31) and the simple random sampling methods at 46.63% (95% CI: 33.31, 59.95). The estimate of ixodid tick prevalence was higher in a year before 2017, with a pooled prevalence of 57.73% (95% CI: 28.96, 86.49), than in the study period after 2017, at 45.69% (95% CI: 33.78, 57.59).

TABLE 3.

Subgroup analysis of the pooled prevalence of ixodid tick infestation among small ruminants in Ethiopia.

Variables Characteristics Included studies Sample size Prevalence (95% CI) I 2(%), p‐value
Study region Amhara 3 1041 39.22 (18.66, 59.78) 98.1, p < 0.001
SNNPR 4 1414 40.01 (12.52, 67.50) 99.4, p < 0.001
Oromia 5 1917 51.40 (19.52, 83.27) 99.7, p < 0.001
Somali 2 768 81.86 (77.79, 85.92) 55.2, p = 0.135
Dire Dawa 1 384 72.39 (67.94, 76.84) 0.0, p = 0.0
Tigray 1 384 41.60 (36.70, 46.51) 0.0, p = 0.0
Afar 1 5376 36.61 (35.32, 37.90) 0.0, p = 0.0
Species Sheep 17 4787 50.88 (38.99, 62.77) 98.8, p < 0.001
Goat 17 6497 46.59 (30.18, 63.00) 99.6, p < 0.001
Sample size ≥ 384 14 10443 50.88 (36.79, 64.96) 99.6, p < 0.001
< 384 3 841 45.49 (32.99, 58.00) 92.9%, p < 0.001
Sampling technique Simple random 13 9782 46.63 (33.31, 59.95) 99.5%, p < 0.001
Proportional sampling 1 384 87.76 (84.48, 91.05) 0.0%, p = 0.0
Systematic random 3 1118 51.70 (29.09, 74.31) 98.5%, p < 0.001
Publication year Before 2017 6 2351 57.73 (28.96, 86.49) 99.8%, p < 0.001
After 2017 11 8933 45.69 (33.78, 57.59) 99.4%, p < 0.001
Overall 17 11284 49.95 (37.67, 62.22) 99.5%, p < 0.001
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Abbreviation: SNNPR, Southern Nations, Nationalities and People's Region.

3.5. Prevalence of Major Ixodid Tick Genera Identified

In this review, out of 11,284 small ruminants (4787 sheep and 6497 goats) examined, 21,429 hard ticks were collected. The collected ticks were identified and grouped into five hard tick genera: Amblyomma, Rhipicephalus (Boophilus), Hyalomma, Haemaphysalis and Ixodes. The highest prevalent tick genera were Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) at 52.80% (95% CI: 52.05, 53.55), and the least prevalent genera recorded was Haemaphysalis with a pooled prevalence rate of 0.02% (95% CI: 0.00, 35.96) (Table 4).

TABLE 4.

Pooled prevalence of major ixodid tick genera identified from small ruminants.

No. Ixodid tick genera Total number of tick collected Prevalence (95% CI)
1. Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) 11,321 52.80% (52.05, 53.55)
2. Amblyomma 7470 34.90% (34.03, 35.77)
3. Hyalomma 2625 12.24% (11.18, 13.37)
4. Ixodes 8 0.04% (0.00, 16.76)
5. Haemaphysalis 5 0.02% (0.00, 35.96)
Overall 21,429 100%
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Based on the included studies in the meta‐analysis, the highest number of hard ticks were collected during the year of 2014 (n = 4801), followed by 2020 (n = 4399), and the least number of ticks were collected during the year 2019 (n = 122). The trend of ticks collected in the years between 2012 and 2023 does not show a regular pattern, even if it shows a slightly decreasing trend from 2014 to 2023.

3.6. Heterogeneity, Publication Bias and Sensitivity Analysis

All incorporated articles are of high quality, as shown in the Supporting Information S3. The Egger's regression intercept test at a p value of 0.240 (Table 5) showed no publication bias, though this test is known to have low power in meta‐analyses with a limited number of studies. A funnel plot, on the other hand, revealed there is a slight positive publication bias, with a gap in the lower‐left quadrant (Figure 4a). Typically, under conditions of extreme heterogeneity, funnel plots may be misleading. Furthermore, the research conducted by Abunna et al. (2012), Eyob and Matios (2014), Desalegn et al. (2015), Mohammed and Admasu (2015), Seyoum et al. (2015), Ahmed et al. (2017), Mengistu et al. (2018), Moliso et al. (2018), Abera and Gebrewahd (2019), Daniel et al. (2019), Feki et al. (2020), Habtemichael et al. (2020), Kassa et al. (2020), Mandado and Bazabhie (2021), Mathewos et al. (2021), Jewaro and Mustefa (2023) and Tamrat et al. (2023) in sensitivity analysis affects the pooled proportion and after totally removed the above articles, the pooled effect size becomes 47.58 (45.19–49.96) as shown in Figure 4b. Finally, the Galbraith plot revealed some heterogeneity among the included studies. The dispersion of studies away from the ‘no‐effect’ line indicates considerable between‐study variation in effect estimates (Figure 5).

TABLE 5.

Egger's test for small‐study effects in meta‐analysis of the prevalence of ixodid tick infestation among small ruminants in Ethiopia.

Std_Eff Coef. Std. Err. t p > |t| (95% Confidence interval)
Slope 30.50202 12.75429 2.39 0.030 (3.316879, 57.68715)
Bias 9.164094 7.164094 7.493756 0.240 (−6.808468, 25.13666)
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FIGURE 4.

FIGURE 4

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(a) Funnel plot depicting publication bias for meta‐analysis of the prevalence of ixodid tick infestation among small ruminants in Ethiopia; (b) sensitivity analysis result of the involved studies that assessed the effect of individual studies on the overall prevalence of ixodid tick infestation among small ruminants in Ethiopia.

FIGURE 5.

FIGURE 5

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Galbraith plot of the prevalence of ixodid tick infestation among small ruminants in Ethiopia.

4. Discussion

This systematic review and meta‐analysis revealed a pooled prevalence of 49.95% ixodid tick infestation in Ethiopian sheep and goats, confirming that ticks remain a widespread and significant challenge for small ruminant production. The prevalence recorded here is higher than reports from Nigeria (25%) (Alayande et al. 2016) but lower than estimates from other African countries such as Cameroon (92.5%) (Malla et al. 2021), Niger State, Nigeria (67.2%) (Idris and Balogu 2020) and Somalia (66.15%) (Sh Hassan et al. 2022). Such variation may be explained by ecological differences, animal husbandry practices and sampling methodologies (Adugna and Tamrat 2022).

Regarding species difference, sheep exhibited slightly higher prevalence (50.9%) compared to goats (46.6%), consistent with reports from Cameroon (99.4% in sheep and 86.7% in goats) (Malla et al. 2021), Niger State, Nigeria (83.6% in sheep and 50.6% in goats) (Idris and Balogu 2020) and Sokoto State, Nigeria (21.2% in sheep and 3.8% in goats) (Alayande et al. 2016). On the other hand, the current result is contradictory to the study reported from Somalia (51.3% in sheep and 76.1% in goats) (Sh Hassan et al. 2022) and north‐central Nigeria (13.82% in sheep and 23% in goats) (Elelu et al. 2022), in which a higher prevalence of tick infestation was recorded in goats than sheep. Possible explanations include sheep's denser wool, which provides a more favourable microenvironment for ticks, and differences in grazing behaviour, tick‐borne diseases in the region. However, the difference was not statistically significant, suggesting that both species are substantially affected. Breed‐level variation, although not examined in this study, may also influence susceptibility and warrants further research.

With regard to tick genera distribution, the most prevalent genus is Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) with the prevalence rate of 52.80%, and the least is Haemaphysalis (0.02%). This pattern is consistent with studies from Cameroon, in which Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) was the highest prevalent (71.7%), and Haemaphysalis (8.4%) was the least prevalent genera (Malla et al. 2021). However, discrepancies exist with findings from Tanzania (Damian et al. 2020), where Rhipicephalus was reported as the least prevalent. Such discrepancies highlight the role of ecological and seasonal factors in shaping tick population dynamics.

Regarding the associated diseases and impacts, the high prevalence of Rhipicephalus and Amblyomma is concerning, as these genera are known vectors of important pathogens, including Theileria, Babesia and Anaplasma (Mucheka et al. 2023). In Ethiopia (Asmare et al. 2017), tick‐borne diseases such as theileriosis and anaplasmosis have been reported in small ruminants, underscoring the need to interpret prevalence not only in terms of ectoparasite burden but also in relation to associated morbidity, mortality and economic loss.

The economic losses due to tick infestation and tick‐borne diseases could be direct or indirect. The direct production losses are those that are directly attributable to the presence of disease in the animal population through morbidity and mortality (Yusuf et al. 2017). Other losses are related to the animals that recovered that may suffer from weight loss, lesions such as soft and pulpy spleen, damage and irritation to hide which decreases the hide quality, swollen liver, dark‐coloured kidneys, anaemia and jaundice, reduction in meat, provide less draught power and suffer from reduced fertility and delays in reaching maturity (Yusuf et al. 2017; Kyari et al. 2022).

Concerning regional variation, marked regional differences were observed, with Somali and Dire Dawa recording the highest prevalence, while Afar showed the lowest. These differences may be linked to climate, vegetation and management systems. For example, semi‐arid and pastoral regions often experience heavy tick burdens due to extensive grazing practices and limited veterinary services.

With regard to control implications, there are several concepts that have been deployed in the control of ticks, such as integrated tick control strategies (host resistance to ticks and diseases they transmit), the use of biological control measures, cross‐breeding and the development of vaccines against tick antigens (Jonsson and Piper 2007). Compared to intensive farming methods, environmental management systems that incorporate seasonal dynamics of tick infestation and extensive animal rearing increase the risk of tick infestation. The most commonly used method in tick control involves dipping or spraying with chemicals (Kyari et al. 2022).

4.1. Limitations of the Study

Seventeen included papers are from seven regions of the country, which may affect the representativeness of the pooled estimate and tick genera types most prevalent in Ethiopia due to a lack of information and data from the remaining regions of Ethiopia. In addition, the studies in this review were all cross‐sectional in design; it is possible that other confounding variables could influence the outcome variable. Again, only studies conducted between 2012 and 2023 were included. Moreover, a major shortcoming of this study is the lack of a quantitative synthesis of risk factors like age, sex, management system and season due to the unavailable of required data (OR, LCI and UCI) from the majority of the included articles. Furthermore, the influence of seasonality on disease prevalence could not be systematically assessed due to inconsistent reporting of seasonal data across the included studies. This represents a significant knowledge gap, as seasonal variations are critical for understanding transmission dynamics.

5. Conclusions and Recommendations

This meta‐analysis demonstrates that nearly half of sheep and goats in Ethiopia are infested with ixodid ticks, with sheep slightly more affected than goats. Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) was identified as the dominant genus, followed by Amblyomma and Hyalomma. The findings highlight the persistent burden of ticks on small ruminant production and the associated risk of transmitting tick‐borne diseases. Given the economic and health impacts, there is a need for comprehensive and sustainable tick control strategies that consider ecological variation and management practices. Future research should focus not only on prevalence but also on tick‐borne pathogens, host susceptibility, seasonal studies and the cost‐effectiveness of control measures. Strengthening veterinary services and awareness among smallholder farmers will be essential to reduce the burden and improve the productivity of Ethiopia's small ruminant sector.

Author Contributions

Abayeneh Girma: conceptualization, data curation, formal analysis, investigation, methodology, project administration, resources, software, supervision, validation, visualization, writing – review and editing. Indiris Abdu: conceptualization, data curation, investigation, resources, validation, visualization, writing – original draft. Anchiye Getachew: conceptualization, data curation, investigation, resources, validation, visualization, writing – original draft.

Funding

The authors have nothing to report.

Ethics Statement

The authors have nothing to report.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Supporting information

S1 Table. PRISMA 2020 Checklist.

VMS3-12-e70788-s001.docx (17.1KB, docx)

Supplementary file 2: Database‐specific search strategy.

VMS3-12-e70788-s002.docx (14.5KB, docx)

S2 Table. Quality appraisal result of included studies. The quality of included studies was evaluated using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) quality appraisal checklist for prevalence studies.

VMS3-12-e70788-s003.docx (22.1KB, docx)

Acknowledgements

The authors have nothing to report.

Girma, A. , Abdu I., and Getachew A.. 2026. “Prevalence of Ixodid Tick Infestation Among Small Ruminants in Ethiopia: A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis.” Veterinary Medicine and Science 12, no. 1: e70788. 10.1002/vms3.70788

Data Availability Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

References

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Associated Data

This section collects any data citations, data availability statements, or supplementary materials included in this article.

Supplementary Materials

S1 Table. PRISMA 2020 Checklist.

VMS3-12-e70788-s001.docx (17.1KB, docx)

Supplementary file 2: Database‐specific search strategy.

VMS3-12-e70788-s002.docx (14.5KB, docx)

S2 Table. Quality appraisal result of included studies. The quality of included studies was evaluated using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) quality appraisal checklist for prevalence studies.

VMS3-12-e70788-s003.docx (22.1KB, docx)

Data Availability Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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