Abstract
Chlamydia spp. are prevalent zoonotic pathogens that infect a wide variety of host species. Chlamydia abortus (C. abortus) infection in yaks has been reported in Gansu and Qinghai province, China. However, no data about C. abortus infection are available in yaks in Tibet, China. A total of 938 serum samples was collected from yaks in Tibet, China and specific antibodies against C. abortus were detected by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The results showed that the overall seroprevalence of C. abortus in yaks was 104/938 (11.1 %, 95 % confidence interval [CI] 9.1–13.1). The prevalence in female and male yaks was 59/556 (10.6 %, 95 % CI 8.0-13.2) and 45/382 (11.8 %, 95 % CI 8.5–15.0), respectively with no significant difference (p > 0.05). The seroprevalence of antibodies to C. abortus in yaks ranged from 8.0 to 18.2 % among the six different areas, and the difference was also without statistical significance (p > 0.05). The prevalence among different age groups ranged from 7.0 to 15.9 %, with a higher prevalence among 1 to 2 years age category. The results demonstrate the presence of C. abortus infection in yaks in Tibet and may pose a risk for the general yak populations in addition to its potential impact on public health and the local Tibetan economy. To our knowledge, this is the first seroprevalence survey of C. abortus in yaks in Tibet, China.
Highlights
Chlamydia spp. are obligate intracellular bacteria with a unique biphasic developmental cycle, which can infect a wide range of animals and humans [1]
While data on the seroprevalence of C. abortus in yaks is available for Qinghai and Gansu provinces of China [16, 17], there is no information on the prevalence of C. abortus is in yaks in Tibet, China to the best of our
The seroprevalence of yak C. abortus in Tibet was lower than that in Qinghai (17.66 %) and Gansu provinces (16.22 %) of China [16, 17], and in India (35 %) [18], but higher than the prevalence reported in Ireland and Poland [8, 11]
Summary
Chlamydia spp. are obligate intracellular bacteria with a unique biphasic developmental cycle, which can infect a wide range of animals and humans [1]. While data on the seroprevalence of C. abortus in yaks is available for Qinghai and Gansu provinces of China [16, 17], there is no information on the prevalence of C. abortus is in yaks in Tibet, China to the best of our We investigated the seroprevalence of C. abortus and risk factors including location, gender and age of yaks in Tibet.
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