Prevalence of Ku fever in the southern region of Kazakhstan

Abstract

Q fever (coxiellosis) is a zoonotic infection caused by the bacterium Coxiella (C.) burnetii that can infect many species of mammals, including humans. This work was aimed at studying the prevalence of C. burnetii among livestock and people in the southern region of Kazakhstan using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). For serological monitoring, serum samples were collected from 100 residents of the Zhambyl oblast in the epidemiological season of 2021. It was found that the total seroprevalence of IgG to C. burnetii is 3.3%. A serological analysis of 282 blood serum samples from Capra hircus, Ovis aries and Bos taurus collected in the Turkestan and Zhambyl oblasts demonstrated that the total seroprevalence of antibodies to C. burnetii in livestock is 32.2% and 23.0% in the Turkestan and Zhambyl oblasts, respectively. An epidemiological analysis of livestock seromonitoring data was carried out. It was shown that the species belonging to Capra hircus, female sex and habitat in Baidibek, Sairam, Kazygurt districts of the Turkestan oblast and in T. Ryskulov of the Zhambyl oblast are risk factors for C. burnetii infection in the southern region of Kazakhstan. The results indicate the need for further research in this direction to isolate the pathogen and identify its main reservoirs. Key words: Coxiella (C.) burnetii, coxiellosis, epidemiology, enzyme immunoassay, serum.