Staphylococcus aureus was the first bacteria against which penicillin was discoveredand has become challenging for its drug-resistant property throughout the world. Monitoring the status of S. aureus both its susceptible and drug-resistant properties is pretty important to develop optional preventive methods timely. Even though fragmented studies on the apparent prevalence of S. aureus in milk and meat have been conducted in Ethiopia, a well-organized national review on this pathogen remained scarce. A systematic review and meta-analysis of S. aureus was conducted to overview the pooled apparent prevalence in Ethiopia in a ten-year period from 2011 to 2020. PubMed and Google Scholar databases were used to search for research articles published in reputable journals. Eventually, 29 research articles were selected for systematic review and meta-analysis. The forest plot pooled the apparent prevalence of S. aureus with a 95% CI. The overall pooled apparent prevalence of any detection using the random effect model was 23 per cent (95% CI: 19–28%, p<0.001). The pooled apparent prevalence of S. aureus was highest in SNNP 39% (95% CI; 15– 63%), followed by Oromia 28% (95% CI; 18–38%). The minimal effect size was observed in Amhara regional states at 5% (95% CI; 3–7%). This review indicated that the apparent prevalence of S. aureus more or less decreased from 27.8% in 2012 to 11.4% in 2020. In conclusion, high variation and decreasing trend of the apparent prevalence across different regions was observed.

Keywords: Staphylococcus aureus, systematic review, meta-analysis, ten years, Ethiopia