Q Fever Serological Survey and Associated Risk Factors in Veterinarians, Southern Belgium, 2013

Q fever is a zoonotic disease caused by the rickettsia-like Coxiella burnetii and leads to abortions and decreased reproductive performances in domestic ruminants. A serological survey, using ELISA test, was conducted to assess the prevalence of this infection in 226 ewes belonging to 39 flocks localized in Constantine (North-eastern Algeria). A pretested questionnaire has been submitted to farmers/shepherds to collect information related to relevant risk factors. Results revealed the presence of C. burnetii antibodies in 12.4% (95% CI: 8.08%−16.72%) of individual animals while 35.9% (95% CI: 21.20%−52.82%) of sampled flocks accounted at least one seropositive ewe. Significant causative associations were observed for origin of animals (χ2=14.29, P=0.001), vaccination against enterotoxaemia (χ2=12.12, P=0.002) and pox (χ2=5.30, P=0.025), access to the farm by foreign visitors (χ2=10.87, P=0.004), farmers/shepherds’ visits to other farms (χ2=6.31, P=0.021), disinfection frequency (χ2=7.98, P=0.046), pest infestation within farms (χ2=9.55, P=0.049) and abortion history (χ2=5.54, P=0.029). This recorded prevalence of Coxiella infection would indicate a possible responsibility of this agent in causing abortion and reproductive failures in the tested flocks. Implementing active surveillance programs and further investigations using more accurate analyses and including large samples of more animal species from several provinces are needed to eluci date the real occurrence and dynamics of this infection in the national livestock.

Download Full-text

Serological survey using ELISA to determine the prevalence of Coxiella burnetii infection (Q fever) in sheep and goats in Great Britain

Epidemiology and Infection ◽

10.1017/s0950268815000874 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 144 (1) ◽

pp. 19-24 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

S. L. LAMBTON ◽

R. P. SMITH ◽

K. GILLARD ◽

M. HORIGAN ◽

C. FARREN ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Great Britain ◽

Coxiella Burnetii ◽

Q Fever ◽

Spatial Clustering ◽

Flock Size ◽

Individual Animal ◽

Serological Survey ◽

Animal Testing ◽

Sheep And Goats

SUMMARYA survey of Coxiella burnetii infection (Q fever) in sheep flocks and goat herds in Great Britain was undertaken. A total of 5791 sheep (384 flocks) and 522 goats (145 herds) were examined for C. burnetii antibodies using an ELISA. Overall, 53 sheep (37 flocks), and four goats (four herds), tested positive. Estimates of individual animal, between-flock/-herd and within-flock/-herd crude prevalences were 0·9%, 10·2% and 9·0%, respectively, for sheep, and 0·8%, 3% and 26·3%, respectively, for goats. With sheep, the likelihood of an animal testing positive increased with total flock size (P = 0·002) and number of breeding ewes in the flock (P = 0·021). It also increased with number of goats within a 10 km radius (P = 0·038). There was no evidence for spatial clustering of positive herds above that expected by chance alone. No analysis of risk factors was attempted for goats because of the paucity of positives.

Download Full-text

Coxiella burnetii (Q fever) infection in dairy cattle and associated risk factors in Latvia

Epidemiology and Infection ◽

10.1017/s0950268817000838 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 145 (10) ◽

pp. 2011-2019 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

A. BORODUSKE ◽

J. TROFIMOVA ◽

J. KIBILDS ◽

U. PAPULE ◽

M. SERGEJEVA ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Dairy Cattle ◽

Coxiella Burnetii ◽

Dairy Cow ◽

Q Fever ◽

Scan Statistics ◽

Serum Samples ◽

Risk Area ◽

Increase Risk ◽

Associated Risk Factors

SUMMARYThe purpose of this study was to describe prevalence and spatial distribution of Coxiella burnetii infections in dairy cow sheds in Latvia and to investigate risk factors contributing to C. burnetii infections. Blood serum samples from abortion cases from 1010 sheds have been tested by ELISA for the presence of C. burnetii antibodies and bulk tank milk (BTM) samples from 252 sheds have been tested by real time polymerase chain reaction and ELISA for the presence of C. burnetii DNA and antibodies. Prevalence of C. burnetii antibody-positive sheds in cases of abortion was 13·4%. A total of 10·7% and 13·2% of dairy cow sheds tested positive for the presence of C. burnetii DNA and antibodies in BTM, respectively. Two distinct areas of clustering of test-positive dairy cattle sheds were identified by spatial scan statistics of abortion cases and randomly sampled BTM samples. Three factors were identified as significantly contributing to the risk of C. burnetii DNA presence in BTM – number of cattle in shed (>200 animals/shed) (OR 3·93), location of the shed within risk area in Northern Latvia (OR 8·29) and for the first time, purchasing cattle from abroad has been shown to significantly increase risk (OR 2·68) of C. burnetii infection in dairy cows in Latvia.

Download Full-text

A Sero-epidemiological Survey of Brucellosis, Q-Fever and Leptospirosis in Livestock and Humans and Associated Risk Factors in Kajiado County- Kenya

Journal of Tropical Diseases ◽

10.4172/2329-891x.1000215 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 4 (3) ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Nakeel MJ ◽

Arimi SM

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Q Fever ◽

Epidemiological Survey ◽

Associated Risk Factors

Download Full-text

Q Fever: Seroprevalence, Risk Factors in Slaughter Livestock and Genotypes of Coxiella burnetii in South Africa

Pathogens ◽

10.3390/pathogens10030258 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (3) ◽

pp. 258

Author(s):

Maruping Mangena ◽

Nomakorinte Gcebe ◽

Rian Pierneef ◽

Peter N. Thompson ◽

Abiodun A. Adesiyun

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

South Africa ◽

Coxiella Burnetii ◽

Q Fever ◽

Farm Workers ◽

Reproductive Disorders ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Tissue Samples ◽

Associated Risk Factors ◽

Game Animals

Q fever is a neglected zoonosis in South Africa, causing significant losses in livestock and game animals through reproductive disorders. However, there are limited studies on the extent of Coxiella burnetii infections in livestock in South Africa. Further, there is also lack of knowledge about the types of C. burnetii strains that are currently circulating in the country. Therefore, a cross-sectional, abattoir-based study was conducted to determine the seroprevalence of C. burnetii and associated risk factors, and to characterize C. burnetii strains from slaughter livestock at red meat abattoirs in Gauteng, South Africa. Of the 507 animals tested, 6.9% (95% CI: 4.9–9.5%) were positive for antibodies against C. burnetii. The seroprevalence was 9.4% (31/331) in cattle, 4.3% (3/69) in sheep, and 0.9% (1/107) in pigs. Out of the 63 tissue samples from 35 seropositive animals including material from two sheep aborted fetuses from Mangaung district (Free State province), 12.7% (8/63) tested positive by IS1111 PCR. Genotyping of the eight PCR-positive tissues from eight animals by MLVA revealed two novel genotypes, not available in Coxiella MLVA databases. It is concluded that slaughter animals pose a risk of exposing abattoir and farm workers to C. burnetii in South Africa.

Download Full-text