Serological prevalence of Coxiella burnetii in dairy goats and ewes diagnosed with adverse pregnancy outcomes in Greece

• Published in: Annals of Agricultural and Environmental Medicine Vol. 24; no. 4; pp. 702 - 705
• Main Authors: Filioussis, George, Theodoridis, Alexandros, Papadopoulos, Dimitrios, Gelasakis, Athanasios I, Vouraki, Sotiria, Bramis, George, Arsenos, Georgios
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Poland Institute of Rural Health 23.12.2017
• Subjects: Animal species; Animals; Antibodies, Bacterial - immunology; Coxiella burnetii; Coxiella burnetii - immunology; Coxiella burnetii - isolation & purification; dairy goats; dairy sheep; Domestic animals; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay - veterinary; Epidemiology; Female; Goat Diseases - diagnosis; Goat Diseases - epidemiology; Goat Diseases - immunology; Goat Diseases - microbiology; Goats; Greece - epidemiology; Male; Medical diagnosis; Offspring; Pregnancy; Pregnancy Complications - diagnosis; Pregnancy Complications - immunology; Pregnancy Complications - microbiology; Pregnancy Complications - veterinary; Pregnancy Outcome; Prevalence; Public health; Q fever; Q Fever - diagnosis; Q Fever - epidemiology; Q Fever - immunology; Q Fever - veterinary; reproduction; Seroepidemiologic Studies; Serology; Sheep; Sheep Diseases - diagnosis; Sheep Diseases - epidemiology; Sheep Diseases - immunology; Sheep Diseases - microbiology; Zoonoses; Greece; Coxiella burnetii; dairy sheep; dairy goats; reproduction
• ISSN: 1232-1966; 1898-2263
• DOI: 10.26444/aaem/80706

is an obligatory intracellular bacterial pathogen causing the zoonotic disease Q fever. The most common reservoirs of  are wild mammals, birds and ticks. Pregnant domestic ruminants infected with this bacterium are also a major source of human infection. The serological prevalence of 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. Generally, there was a statistically significantly higher serological prevalence of (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. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first report that associates 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.