Serological prevalence of Coxiella burnetii in dairy goats and ewes diagnosed with adverse pregnancy outcomes in Greece
Introduction Coxiella burnetii is an obligatory intracellular bacterial pathogen causing the zoonotic disease Q fever. The most common reservoirs of C. burnetii are wild mammals, birds and ticks. Pregnant domestic ruminants infected with this bacterium are also a major source of human infection....
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Institute of Rural Health
2017-12-01
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| Series: | Annals of Agricultural and Environmental Medicine |
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| Online Access: | http://www.journalssystem.com/aaem/The-serological-prevalence-of-Coxiella-burnetii-in-dairy-goats-and-ewes-diagnosed,80706,0,2.html |
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| author | George Filioussis Alexandros Theodoridis Dimitrios Papadopoulos Athanasios I Gelasakis Sotiria Vouraki George Bramis Georgios Arsenos |
| author_facet | George Filioussis Alexandros Theodoridis Dimitrios Papadopoulos Athanasios I Gelasakis Sotiria Vouraki George Bramis Georgios Arsenos |
| author_sort | George Filioussis |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Introduction
Coxiella burnetii is an obligatory intracellular bacterial pathogen causing the zoonotic disease Q fever. The most common reservoirs of C. burnetii are wild mammals, birds and ticks. Pregnant domestic ruminants infected with this bacterium are also a major source of human infection.
Material and methods
The serological prevalence of C. burnetii in goats and sheep diagnosed with adverse pregnancy outcomes was assessed by undertaking a survey on 800 dairy goats and 800 dairy ewes reared in four different regions of Greece (Macedonia, Thrace, Thessaly, and Peloponnese). A stratified sampling was carried out, taking also as a criterion the age of the animals. Serum antibodies were analyzed by a commercial ELISA according to the manufacturer’s recommendations.
Results
Generally, there was a statistically significantly higher serological prevalence of C. burnetii (14.4%) in goats compared to sheep (8%). Serological prevalence was higher in adults (15.5% in goats and 8.5% in sheep) compared to yearlings (7.4% in goats and 4.6% in sheep). The prevalence increased significantly with age only in goats. Finally, all animals reared in Peloponnese had a prevalence significantly higher (21% in goats and 18% in sheep) than animals reared in the other three regions.
Conclusions
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first report that associates C. burnetii with reproductive disturbances of domestic ruminants in Greece. However, considering the importance of coxiellosis for public health, further investigations are required on its epidemiology regarding abortion, premature delivery, stillbirth and weak offspring in small ruminants, as well as in other domestic and wild animal species. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-20T17:12:18Z |
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| id | doaj.art-5b85b20b019041d795b2a0c55f2d9278 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1232-1966 1898-2263 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-20T17:12:18Z |
| publishDate | 2017-12-01 |
| publisher | Institute of Rural Health |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Annals of Agricultural and Environmental Medicine |
| spelling | doaj.art-5b85b20b019041d795b2a0c55f2d92782022-12-21T19:32:05ZengInstitute of Rural HealthAnnals of Agricultural and Environmental Medicine1232-19661898-22632017-12-0124470270510.26444/aaem/8070680706Serological prevalence of Coxiella burnetii in dairy goats and ewes diagnosed with adverse pregnancy outcomes in GreeceGeorge Filioussis0Alexandros Theodoridis1Dimitrios Papadopoulos2Athanasios I Gelasakis3Sotiria Vouraki4George Bramis5Georgios Arsenos6Laboratory of Microbiology & Infectious Diseases, School of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University, Thessaloniki, GreeceLaboratory of Animal Production Economics, School of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University, Thessaloniki, GreeceLaboratory of Microbiology & Infectious Diseases, School of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University, Thessaloniki, GreeceVeterinary Research Institute of Thessaloniki, ELGO-Demeter, GR 57001, Thermi, Thessaloniki, GreeceLaboratory of Animal Husbandry, School of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University, Thessaloniki, GreeceLaboratory of Animal Husbandry, School of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University, Thessaloniki, GreeceLaboratory of Animal Husbandry, School of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University, Thessaloniki, GreeceIntroduction Coxiella burnetii is an obligatory intracellular bacterial pathogen causing the zoonotic disease Q fever. The most common reservoirs of C. burnetii are wild mammals, birds and ticks. Pregnant domestic ruminants infected with this bacterium are also a major source of human infection. Material and methods The serological prevalence of C. burnetii in goats and sheep diagnosed with adverse pregnancy outcomes was assessed by undertaking a survey on 800 dairy goats and 800 dairy ewes reared in four different regions of Greece (Macedonia, Thrace, Thessaly, and Peloponnese). A stratified sampling was carried out, taking also as a criterion the age of the animals. Serum antibodies were analyzed by a commercial ELISA according to the manufacturer’s recommendations. Results Generally, there was a statistically significantly higher serological prevalence of C. burnetii (14.4%) in goats compared to sheep (8%). Serological prevalence was higher in adults (15.5% in goats and 8.5% in sheep) compared to yearlings (7.4% in goats and 4.6% in sheep). The prevalence increased significantly with age only in goats. Finally, all animals reared in Peloponnese had a prevalence significantly higher (21% in goats and 18% in sheep) than animals reared in the other three regions. Conclusions To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first report that associates C. burnetii with reproductive disturbances of domestic ruminants in Greece. However, considering the importance of coxiellosis for public health, further investigations are required on its epidemiology regarding abortion, premature delivery, stillbirth and weak offspring in small ruminants, as well as in other domestic and wild animal species.http://www.journalssystem.com/aaem/The-serological-prevalence-of-Coxiella-burnetii-in-dairy-goats-and-ewes-diagnosed,80706,0,2.htmlCoxiella burnetiireproductiondairy sheepdairy goats |
| spellingShingle | George Filioussis Alexandros Theodoridis Dimitrios Papadopoulos Athanasios I Gelasakis Sotiria Vouraki George Bramis Georgios Arsenos Serological prevalence of Coxiella burnetii in dairy goats and ewes diagnosed with adverse pregnancy outcomes in Greece Annals of Agricultural and Environmental Medicine Coxiella burnetii reproduction dairy sheep dairy goats |
| title | Serological prevalence of Coxiella burnetii in dairy goats and ewes diagnosed with adverse pregnancy outcomes in Greece |
| title_full | Serological prevalence of Coxiella burnetii in dairy goats and ewes diagnosed with adverse pregnancy outcomes in Greece |
| title_fullStr | Serological prevalence of Coxiella burnetii in dairy goats and ewes diagnosed with adverse pregnancy outcomes in Greece |
| title_full_unstemmed | Serological prevalence of Coxiella burnetii in dairy goats and ewes diagnosed with adverse pregnancy outcomes in Greece |
| title_short | Serological prevalence of Coxiella burnetii in dairy goats and ewes diagnosed with adverse pregnancy outcomes in Greece |
| title_sort | serological prevalence of coxiella burnetii in dairy goats and ewes diagnosed with adverse pregnancy outcomes in greece |
| topic | Coxiella burnetii reproduction dairy sheep dairy goats |
| url | http://www.journalssystem.com/aaem/The-serological-prevalence-of-Coxiella-burnetii-in-dairy-goats-and-ewes-diagnosed,80706,0,2.html |
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