Seroprevalence of Q fever in cattle, sheep and goats in the Volta region of Ghana

• Published in: Veterinary medicine and science Vol. 5; no. 3; pp. 402 - 411
• Main Authors: Johnson, Sherry A. M., Kaneene, John B., Asare‐Dompreh, Kweku, Tasiame, William, Mensah, Ivy G., Afakye, Kofi, Simpson, Shirley V., Addo, Kwasi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.08.2019; John Wiley and Sons Inc; Wiley
• Subjects: Abortion; Agriculture; Animals; Bacterial infections; Bovidae; Cattle; Cattle Diseases - epidemiology; Cattle Diseases - microbiology; Coxiella burnetii; Coxiella burnetii - isolation & purification; Disease; Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; Farmers; Farms; Female; Ghana; Ghana - epidemiology; Goat Diseases - epidemiology; Goat Diseases - microbiology; Goats; Health risk assessment; Infections; Infertility; Laboratories; Livestock; Male; Original; Outbreaks; Ovis aries; Prevalence; Q fever; Q Fever - epidemiology; Q Fever - microbiology; Q Fever - veterinary; Sample size; Seroepidemiologic Studies; Serology; Sheep; Sheep Diseases - epidemiology; Sheep Diseases - microbiology; Surveillance; Zoonoses; zoonosis; Ghana; Burkina Faso; Togo; United States > US; Africa; Ghana; Q fever; Coxiella burnetii; zoonosis; livestock
• ISSN: 2053-1095; 2053-1095
• DOI: 10.1002/vms3.160

Q fever is a zoonotic disease caused by Coxiella burnetii, a causative agent of abortion in livestock and febrile illness in humans. Outbreaks of human cases of Q fever have been reported in Australia and the Netherlands, which was linked to abortions in goat and sheep farms. In Ghana, information on Q fever in both livestock and humans is scanty. This study sought to determine the seroprevalence of Q fever in livestock in the Tongu area of the Volta region of Ghana. It was a cross sectional study with blood sampled from 204 cattle, 158 sheep and 100 goats. An indirect ELISA test was performed to detect Q fever antibodies in the serum of livestock. A total of 20 farms were sampled across the municipalities and an overall prevalence of Q fever was 21.6%. Specie‐specific prevalence was 28.4% (45/158) for sheep, 21.7% (45/204) for cattle and 10% (10/100) for goats. Abortions were reported on all the farms sampled and most farmers lived in close proximity to the farms sampled. Q fever is prevalent in the North Tongu area and requires the attention of the veterinary and health authorities, using the One‐ Health approach in order to control its occurrence and save lives. Q fever is a zoonotic disease which causes abortion in livestock and febrile illness in humans. This study sought to determine the seroprevalence of Q fever in livestock in the Volta region of Ghana.