Diagnosis of <i>Coxiella burnetii</i> Cattle Abortion: A One-Year Observational Study
Q fever is a zoonosis occurring worldwide in livestock. Often neglected in differential diagnoses, Q fever can persist in herds causing financial losses. In ruminants, well-known manifestations of Q fever are metritis, infertility, abortion, stillbirth and delivery of a weak or premature calf. In ca...
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MDPI AG
2022-04-01
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| Series: | Pathogens |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/11/4/429 |
| _version_ | 1827599738845790208 |
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| author | Claude Saegerman Fabien Grégoire Laurent Delooz |
| author_facet | Claude Saegerman Fabien Grégoire Laurent Delooz |
| author_sort | Claude Saegerman |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Q fever is a zoonosis occurring worldwide in livestock. Often neglected in differential diagnoses, Q fever can persist in herds causing financial losses. In ruminants, well-known manifestations of Q fever are metritis, infertility, abortion, stillbirth and delivery of a weak or premature calf. In cattle, Q fever is frequently asymptomatic and/or under-reported. Few studies are available on the diagnosis of <i>Coxiella burnetii</i> as a cause of abortion in cattle using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for pathogen detection while enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is used to assess exposure. Moreover, existing studies include a relatively small number of abortions. The aim of this study is to assess, in the southern part of Belgium, during a year, the performance of diagnosis of <i>C. burnetii</i> as a cause of abortion and the putative benefit of enhanced serology using anamnesis (animal patient data, and present, past and environmental history). A one-year random selection of 1212 abortions was analysed both with the PCR method (tissues from fetuses) and two commercialised ELISAs (sera from the mothers). Relative sensitivity and specificity of the ELISA tests were assessed using PCR as the reference test. The prevalence of <i>C. burnetii</i> PCR positive was 8.5% (95% CI: 6.99–10.21). The diagnostic value of the ELISA tests was assessed using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC-ROC). The sensitivity, specificity and AUC-ROC were similar for both ELISA tests. The diagnostic capacity of the ELISA was confirmed and slightly enhanced if anamnestic information was integrated with a unique scoring index system. A high negative predictive value was demonstrated and a significant reverse association between Ct values and a percentage of the ratio of the optical density between the sample and the positive control (ELISA A or ELISA B) enabling the use of ELISA as an exclusion diagnostic. This study is original by integrating the serological result and the anamnesis in a single index. It opens a new window in enhanced veterinary clinical decision-making. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T04:20:20Z |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
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| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T04:20:20Z |
| publishDate | 2022-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Pathogens |
| spelling | doaj.art-be08594b85544459aa574d1ffe78c1732023-12-03T13:48:55ZengMDPI AGPathogens2076-08172022-04-0111442910.3390/pathogens11040429Diagnosis of <i>Coxiella burnetii</i> Cattle Abortion: A One-Year Observational StudyClaude Saegerman0Fabien Grégoire1Laurent Delooz2Fundamental and Applied Research for Animal and Health (FARAH) Center, University of Liège, B-4000 Liege, BelgiumRegional Association for Animal Registration and Health, B-5530 Ciney, BelgiumFundamental and Applied Research for Animal and Health (FARAH) Center, University of Liège, B-4000 Liege, BelgiumQ fever is a zoonosis occurring worldwide in livestock. Often neglected in differential diagnoses, Q fever can persist in herds causing financial losses. In ruminants, well-known manifestations of Q fever are metritis, infertility, abortion, stillbirth and delivery of a weak or premature calf. In cattle, Q fever is frequently asymptomatic and/or under-reported. Few studies are available on the diagnosis of <i>Coxiella burnetii</i> as a cause of abortion in cattle using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for pathogen detection while enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is used to assess exposure. Moreover, existing studies include a relatively small number of abortions. The aim of this study is to assess, in the southern part of Belgium, during a year, the performance of diagnosis of <i>C. burnetii</i> as a cause of abortion and the putative benefit of enhanced serology using anamnesis (animal patient data, and present, past and environmental history). A one-year random selection of 1212 abortions was analysed both with the PCR method (tissues from fetuses) and two commercialised ELISAs (sera from the mothers). Relative sensitivity and specificity of the ELISA tests were assessed using PCR as the reference test. The prevalence of <i>C. burnetii</i> PCR positive was 8.5% (95% CI: 6.99–10.21). The diagnostic value of the ELISA tests was assessed using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC-ROC). The sensitivity, specificity and AUC-ROC were similar for both ELISA tests. The diagnostic capacity of the ELISA was confirmed and slightly enhanced if anamnestic information was integrated with a unique scoring index system. A high negative predictive value was demonstrated and a significant reverse association between Ct values and a percentage of the ratio of the optical density between the sample and the positive control (ELISA A or ELISA B) enabling the use of ELISA as an exclusion diagnostic. This study is original by integrating the serological result and the anamnesis in a single index. It opens a new window in enhanced veterinary clinical decision-making.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/11/4/429Q fever<i>Coxiella burnetii</i>cattleabortionELISAPCR |
| spellingShingle | Claude Saegerman Fabien Grégoire Laurent Delooz Diagnosis of <i>Coxiella burnetii</i> Cattle Abortion: A One-Year Observational Study Pathogens Q fever <i>Coxiella burnetii</i> cattle abortion ELISA PCR |
| title | Diagnosis of <i>Coxiella burnetii</i> Cattle Abortion: A One-Year Observational Study |
| title_full | Diagnosis of <i>Coxiella burnetii</i> Cattle Abortion: A One-Year Observational Study |
| title_fullStr | Diagnosis of <i>Coxiella burnetii</i> Cattle Abortion: A One-Year Observational Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Diagnosis of <i>Coxiella burnetii</i> Cattle Abortion: A One-Year Observational Study |
| title_short | Diagnosis of <i>Coxiella burnetii</i> Cattle Abortion: A One-Year Observational Study |
| title_sort | diagnosis of i coxiella burnetii i cattle abortion a one year observational study |
| topic | Q fever <i>Coxiella burnetii</i> cattle abortion ELISA PCR |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/11/4/429 |
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