Abstract
BackgroundCoxiella burnetii is the etiological agent of Q fever, a zoonosis affecting many animal species including sheep and goats. The aims of this study were to evaluate the shedding of Coxiella burnetii in small ruminant herds and to identify the pathogen’s genotypes and sequence types (STs) using multiple-locus variable number tandem repeat analysis (MLVA) and multispacer sequence typing (MST) methods.ResultsOverall, 165 samples from 43 herds of goats and 9 flocks of sheep were collected including bulk tank milk (BTM), individual milk samples, vaginal swabs, tissue sections from stillborn kids, feces and placentas. These were tested by real-time PCR targeting the IS1111 element. C. burnetii infection was confirmed in 51.16% of the herds of goats and 22.2% of the flocks of sheep. Six out of nine samples originating from goats were successfully genotyped using the MLVA method. The presence was confirmed of two widely distributed MLVA genotypes (I and J) and genotype PL1 previously reported only in cattle. Only one sequence type (ST61) was identified; however, the majority of specimens represented partial STs and some of them may belong to ST61. Other partial STs could possibly be ST74.ConclusionThis study confirmed the relatively common occurrence of Coxiella burnetii in small ruminant herds in Poland. Interestingly, all genotyped samples represent cattle-associated MLVA genotypes.
Highlights
Coxiella burnetii is the etiological agent of Q fever, a zoonosis affecting many animal species including sheep and goats
The investigation performed in this study revealed that C. burnetii infections are quite common in the small ruminant population in Poland
The presence of C. burnetii infection was confirmed in a high number of tested herds, a large-scale survey should be carried out to assess the prevalence in the population
Summary
Coxiella burnetii is the etiological agent of Q fever, a zoonosis affecting many animal species including sheep and goats. Q fever is a worldwide zoonotic disease caused by Coxiella burnetii. It is an intracellular, Gram-negative bacterium with a reservoir in a wide range of domesticated and wild animals [1,2,3,4]. Cattle and small ruminants (sheep and goats) are commonly known as shedders of C. burnetii and are described as primary sources of its transmission to humans [5, 6]. The placenta and birth fluids of infected animals contaminate the environment and are a significant threat to the agricultural industry and public health. Q fever outbreaks in humans are often related to small ruminants [11, 12], and such was the case for the largest outbreak of the disease, which took place in the Netherlands from 2007 to 2010 [13]
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