IntroductionThe aim of this study was to investigate Q fever seroprevalence in sheep and goats in the Marmara region. Q fever is a zoonotic disease caused by Coxiella burnetii. In ruminants, the disease causes reproductive disorders, premature births and stillbirths.Material and MethodsBlood samples of sheep and goats were collected from the Marmara region of Turkey and a commercial ELISA was used for detection of specific antibodies to C. burnetii. A total of 832 samples (627 from sheep and 205 from goats) obtained from 126 herds located in 110 villages in 63 municipalities across all 11 provinces were utilised.ResultsTotal seroprevalence was found to be 13.22%, while the proportion of seropositive herds was determined to be over threefold higher at 42.85%. The seroprevalence for sheep was found to be 14.19%, and for goats 10.24%. The herd seropositivity rate for sheep of 46.31% and for goats of 32.25% were also over threefold higher than the species-level seroprevalences. The provincial seroprevalence varied between 1.38% and 21.79%.ConclusionThis study confirms the presence of C. burnetii in sheep and goat herds in the Marmara region and provides original seroprevalence data in hitherto uninvestigated provinces. The data gathered are beneficial for evaluation and elaboration of the seroprevalence of Q fever in sheep and goats in the Marmara region. Surveillance studies should be maintained, particularly in provinces with high seropositivity rates.

The aim of this study was to investigate the seroprevalence of ovine chlamydiosis caused by Chlamydia abortus in sheep and goats in Western Turkey. Chlamydial abortion causes late term abortions with a worldwide occurence particularly in sheep and goats; it also leads to significant financial losses. Seroepidemiological studies provide useful data regarding the prevalence of the disease. Isolation of Chlamydia abortus as the causative agent of the disease is a time consuming and laborious procedure requiring appropriate biosafety measures. Serological methods are commonly used for routine diagnosis and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay is generally recommended for surveillance studies. In this study, a total of 833 blood samples obtained from 126 herds of sheep and goats located in all provinces of the Marmara region, Western Turkey, were analyzed. Total seroprevalence was found to be 25.81% through enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. However, the proportion of seropositive herds was observed at 62.70%, which is higher than the total seroprevalence. This study confirms the presence of Chlamydia abortus exposure in sheep and goat herds in the Marmara region and provides original seroprevalence data in the provinces, which have not been reported so far. The data gathered are useful for the evaluation and elaboration on the seroprevalence of chlamydiosis in small ruminants in the Marmara region, Turkey.

Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate Q fever seroprevalence in cattle in Turkey. Q fever is a highly infectious zoonotic disease which is caused by Coxiella burnetii and which has occurrence in many countries of the world. As it is a multiple species disease, many different domestic and wild animals could be the carrier of the pathogen. However, cattle, sheep and goats are the main reservoirs and the disease generally appears with an increase in the cases of abortion and stillbirth. Methods: Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is preferred and recommended for the diagnosis of Q fever because they are highly sensitive and easy to use. In this study, blood samples of cattle randomly collected from 22 provinces of Turkey between 2017-2018 were tested by ELISA. Results: Among 1114 blood samples analyzed, the detected seropositivity level is 18% and provincial seropositivity is between 2.3%-35.2%. Regional results are close to each other changing between 15.1% and 22.3%. Conclusion:The results gathered have revealed the C. burnetii exposure of cattle in different regions of Turkey.The findings of this study display the necessity of strategies against this disease which poses hazards for both public and animal health. Since this disease leads to serious loss in animal production, determination of the fighting strategies against Q fever and evaluation of the methods after practice is important. This study is believed to contribute to the fight against this disease with the leading and comparable data it presents.

The aim of this study is to investigate the Coxiella burnetii and Chlamydia abortus antibodies in sheep in Düzce province. These two pathogens are causative agents of Query fever and Enzootic abortion of ewes, respectively which are related to abortion in small ruminants. Economic loss due to the abortions which are caused by microbiological agents is considerably high in many countries. Material and Methods: Blood samples of sheep were collected from Düzce province of Turkey for serological tests. Commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used for the detection of specific antibodies to C. burnetii and C. abortus. A total of 72 samples obtained from 14 herds located in 12 villages/districts of 5 towns in Düzce province were utilized in this study. Samples were collected from 2-5-year-old female animals without an abortion history. Results: Total seroprevalence of Enzootic abortion of ewes and Query fever was found to be 20.83% and 26.38%, respectively. However, the proportion of seropositive herds was found to be 42.8% for Enzootic abortion of ewes and 50% for Q fever, which is higher than total seroprevalence. 6 flocks out of 14 were found to be seropositive for both of the diseases simultaneously. Conclusion: This study confirms the exposure of sheep herds in Düzce province to C. burnetii and C. abortus and provides original seroprevalence data about Düzce. The data gathered are beneficial to evaluate the possible connection of two investigated abortogenic pathogens in sheep abortion cases in Düzce province.

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