Title: Q fever in domestic ruminants: A Seroepidemiological survey
Abstract:Q fever is a zoonosis caused by an obligate intracellular bacterium, Coxiella burnetii. The ruminants are identified as the source in the majority of Q fever outbreaks in humans. The main aim of curre...Q fever is a zoonosis caused by an obligate intracellular bacterium, Coxiella burnetii. The ruminants are identified as the source in the majority of Q fever outbreaks in humans. The main aim of current survey was to determine the seroprevalence of C. burnetii infection in sheep, goats and cattle in Hamedan, western Iran. In a cross-sectional study between May to October 2014, blood samples were collected randomly from 200 sheep, 50 goats and 120 dairy cattle in ten different locations of Hamedan. All samples were evaluated for the presence of antibodies to C. burnetii using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Antibodies to C. burnetii were found in 27.5% of sheep, 54% in goats and 0.83% in dairy cattle. Herd and within herd level prevalence was 100% and 5-56% for sheep, 100% and 20-100% for goat, and 10% and 0-8.3% for dairy cattle, respectively. No evidence of significant correlation between abortion history, gender, age groups and seroprevalence rates was found in animals. The infection rate in sheep was reported 41.9% and 23.6% in ≤2 and >2 age group, respectively (P=0.017, OR=2.3). In conclusion this is the first report of C. burnetii infection in animals in western Iran. The results indicate that coxiellosis may partly be responsible for major economic losses in domestic ruminants husbandry especially in goats in this region. Therefore, it is necessary to take integrated strategies for prevent and control of infection in animals, which could help to reduce human infection. Further comprehensive studies are recommended. K e y w o r d s Coxiella burnetii, Q fever, domestic animals, ELISA, IranRead More
Publication Year: 2015
Publication Date: 2015-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
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