Abstract
Q fever is a zoonotic disease caused by Coxiella burnetii that is highly prevalent across the world. In this study, a prospective serosurvey was performed to study C. burnetii circulation in a population of sheep in the central region of Portugal. Blood from a representative sample of 168 animals was drawn in both 2015 and 2016, and sera were tested for IgG anti-C. burnetii by EIA. In 2015, 7.7% (13/168) animals tested positive for IgG anti-C. burnetii, while in 2016, 17.3% (29/168) tested positive, showing a statistically significant (P = 0.008) increase in anti-C. burnetii seroprevalence. Results support the notion that Q fever is emerging in central Portugal.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
References
Alves J, Almeida F, Duro R, Ferraz R, Silva S, Sobrinho-Simões J, Sarmento A. Presentation and diagnosis of acute Q fever in Portugal—A case series. IDCases 2016; 7:34-37
Anastácio S, Tavares N, Carolino N, Sidi-Boumedine K, da Silva GJ. Serological evidence of exposure to Coxiella burnetii in sheep and goats in central Portugal. Veterinary Microbiology 2013; 27:500-5
Angelakis E, Raoult D. Q Fever. Veterinary Microbiology 2010. 27:297-309
Arricau-Bouvery N, Rodolakis A. Is Q fever an emerging or re-emerging zoonosis? Veterinary Research 2005; 36:327-49
DGS (2015) Direção-Geral da Saúde. Doenças de Notificação Obrigatória (1999 a 2013). Portugal
ECDC (2014) Surveillance report annual epidemiological report—emerging and vector-borne diseases
Georgiev M, Afonso A, Neubauer H, Needham H, Thiery R, Rodolakis A, Roest H, Stark K, Stegeman J, Vellema P, van der Hoek W, More S (2013) Q fever in humans and farm animals in four European countries, 1982 to 2010. Euro Surveill; 18:20407
Mori M, Roest HJ. Farming, Q fever and public health: agricultural practices and beyond. Archives Public Health 2018. 6;76:2
Seo M-G, I-O Ouh, S-H Lee, JW Kim, MH Rhee, O-D Kwon, T-H Kim, and D Kwak (2017) Prevalence of Coxiella burnetii in cattle at South Korean national breeding stock farms. PLoS One; 12:e0177478
Van den Brom R, van Engelen E, Roest HI, van der Hoek W, Vellema P. Coxiella burnetii infections in sheep or goats: an opinionated review. Veterinary Microbiology 2015; 181, 1–2:119-129
Acknowledgments
This work is financed by national funds through FCT—Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, I.P., under the project UID/Multi/04016/2016 and FCT Bilateral project (Proc° 441.00 SERVIA). Furthermore, we would like to thank the Instituto Politécnico de Viseu, CI&DETS, for their support and FCT, FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-009525; IPV, CI&DETS, FCT and QREN/FEDER (Ovislab ICT-2013-05-004-5314 ID-64757; rumDISEASE PROJ/CI&DETS/2016/0023, SBMERGE PROJ/CI&DETS/CGD/009 and HEALTHY-ValorWhey PROJ/CI&DETS/CGD/007). This work is supported by European Investment Funds by FEDER/COMPETE/POCI—Operacional Competitiveness and Internacionalization Programme, under Project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006958, and National Funds by FCT—Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, under the project UID/AGR/04033/2013. Furthermore, we would like to thank UTAD and CITAB for their support.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
None.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Cruz, R., Esteves, F., Vasconcelos-Nóbrega, C. et al. Prospective Serosurvey of Coxiella burnetii Antibodies in Selected Sheep of Portugal. EcoHealth 15, 871–874 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10393-018-1374-x
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10393-018-1374-x