Current perspectives on the transmission of Q fever: Highlighting the need for a systematic molecular approach for a neglected disease in Africa

Salifu, Samson Pandam; Bukari, Abdul-Rahman Adamu; Frangoulidis, Dimitrios; Wheelhouse, Nick

doi:10.1016/j.actatropica.2019.02.032

Cited by 29 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 95 publications

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“…e two main equilibria considered here are the diseasefree equilibrium and endemic equilibrium. We obtained the disease-free equilibrium by assuming that the disease-induced states A � I � 0 and a free C. burnetii environment and thus B � 0. erefore, by solving for the nonzero state variables in equations (10) and (11), a unique disease-free equilibrium is obtained as follows:…”

Section: Proof Let X � (S V a I B)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Q fever is noted as the second most commonly reported laboratory infection with several recorded outbreaks involving 15 or more persons [3]. e disease dynamics in both animals and humans start primarily through inhalation of contaminated dust, contact with placenta discharge during an abortion, parturition of an infected animal, drinking unpasteurised infected milk, ingestion meat containing Coxiella burnetii, or contact with contaminated wool [3,5,10,11]. Outbreaks typically occur following birth or abortion where the environment becomes contaminated with birthing fluids of an infected animal [3].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In recent time, Q fever has received an increase in publicity on the potential source of transmission and possible preventative measures in both livestock and humans (see, for example, [11,16] and the references therein). e research by De Rooij et al [17] suggested that during any future epidemics, attention should be placed on a rapid source of identification, quantification of emission, accurate data collection, and smooth data exchange amongst relevant actors to enable effective risk assessment and risk management.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Deterministic Model for Q Fever Transmission Dynamics within Dairy Cattle Herds: Using Sensitivity Analysis and Optimal Controls

Asamoah

Jin

Sun

et al. 2020

Computational and Mathematical Methods in Medicine

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This paper presents a differential equation model which describes a possible transmission route for Q fever dynamics in cattle herds. The model seeks to ascertain epidemiological and theoretical inferences in understanding how to avert an outbreak of Q fever in dairy cattle herds (livestock). To prove the stability of the model’s equilibria, we use a matrix-theoretic method and a Lyapunov function which establishes the local and global asymptotic behaviour of the model. We introduce time-dependent vaccination, environmental hygiene, and culling and then solve for optimal strategies. The optimal control strategies are necessary management practices that may increase animal health in a Coxiella burnetii-induced environment and may also reduce the transmission of the disease from livestock into the human population. The sensitivity analysis presents the relative importance of the various generic parameters in the model. We hope that the description of the results and the optimality trajectories provides some guidelines for animal owners and veterinary officers on how to effectively minimize the bacteria and control cost before/during an outbreak.

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Section: Proof Let X � (S V a I B)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Deterministic Model for Q Fever Transmission Dynamics within Dairy Cattle Herds: Using Sensitivity Analysis and Optimal Controls

Asamoah

Jin

Sun

et al. 2020

Computational and Mathematical Methods in Medicine

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“…This tick species is widespread in East Africa and is the vector of relapsing fever in humans and of African swine fever in pigs. In this region, the presence of Q fever has been known for over 60 years, where it remains a neglected zoonosis [33,34]. Most notably, the transmission routes have not been clearly established, while Q fever consistently accounts for cases of human febrile illness and infective endocarditis in Africa [33,34].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vector competence of the African argasid tick Ornithodoros moubata for the Q fever agent Coxiella burnetii

et al. 2021

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Q fever is a widespread zoonotic disease caused by the intracellular bacterium Coxiella burnetii. While transmission is primarily but not exclusively airborne, ticks are usually thought to act as vectors on the basis of early microscopy studies. However, recent observations revealed that endosymbionts of ticks have been commonly misidentified as C. burnetii, calling the importance of tick-borne transmission into question. In this study, we re-evaluated the vector competence of the African soft tick Ornithodoros moubata for an avirulent strain of C. burnetii. To this end, we used an artificial feeding system to initiate infection of ticks, specific molecular tools to monitor further infections, and culture assays in axenic and cell media to check for the viability of C. burnetii excreted by ticks. We observed typical traits associated with vector competence: The exposure to an infected blood meal resulted in viable and persistent infections in ticks, trans-stadial transmissions of infection from nymphs to adults and the ability of adult ticks to transmit infectious C. burnetii. However, in contrast to early studies, we found that infection differed substantially between tick organs. In addition, while adult female ticks were infected, we did not observe C. burnetii in eggs, suggesting that transovarial transmission is not effective. Finally, we detected only a sporadic presence of C. burnetii DNA in tick faeces, but no living bacterium was further isolated in culture assays, suggesting that excretion in faeces is not a common mode of transmission in O. moubata.

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“…I n cattle, pathogens belonging to several broad groups-bacteria, parasites, and viruses-are important zoonotic and abortifacient agents (Sager et al 2001, Baudin et al 2016, Kaveh et al 2017. While some typically cause clinical disease, others are underreported because of their often asymptomatic infection in animals (Ayinmode et al 2017, Salifu et al 2019. Exposure of apparently healthy cattle to pathogens of zoonotic and reproductive significance is often detected by serological assays (Sun et al 2015, Ayinmode et al 2017.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sero-Epidemiological Study of Selected Zoonotic and Abortifacient Pathogens in Cattle at a Wildlife-Livestock Interface in South Africa

Adesiyun

Knobel

Thompson

et al. 2020

Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases

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A cross sectional sero-epidemiological study was conducted on cattle in a communal farming area adjacent to Kruger National Park at a wildlife-livestock interface in South Africa. A total of 184 cattle were screened for exposure to 5 abortifacient or zoonotic pathogens, namely Coxiella burnetii, Toxoplasma gondii, Chlamydophila abortus, Neospora caninum, and Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. In addition, the virus neutralization test was used to confirm the presence of antibodies to RVFV. The seroprevalence of C. burnetii, T. gondii, C. abortus, N. caninum, and RVFV antibodies was 38.0%, 32.6%, 20.7%, 1.6%, and 0.5%, respectively, and varied between locations (p < 0.001). Seroprevalence of C. burnetii and T. gondii was highly clustered by location (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC] = 0.57), and that of C. abortus moderately so (ICC = 0.11). Seroprevalence was not associated with sex or age for any pathogen, except for C. abortus, for which seroprevalence was positively associated with age (p = 0.01). The predominant mixed infections were C. burnetii and T. gondii (15.2%) and C. burnetii, T. gondii, and C. abortus (13.0%). The serological detection of the five abortifacient pathogens in cattle indicates the potential for economic losses to livestock farmers, health impacts to domestic animals, transmission across the livestock-wildlife interface, and the risk of zoonotic transmission. This is the first documentation of T. gondii infection in cattle in South Africa, while exposure to C. burnetii, C. abortus, and N. caninum infections is being reported for the first time in cattle in a wildlife-livestock interface in the country.

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Current perspectives on the transmission of Q fever: Highlighting the need for a systematic molecular approach for a neglected disease in Africa

Cited by 29 publications

References 95 publications

A Deterministic Model for Q Fever Transmission Dynamics within Dairy Cattle Herds: Using Sensitivity Analysis and Optimal Controls

A Deterministic Model for Q Fever Transmission Dynamics within Dairy Cattle Herds: Using Sensitivity Analysis and Optimal Controls

Vector competence of the African argasid tick Ornithodoros moubata for the Q fever agent Coxiella burnetii

Sero-Epidemiological Study of Selected Zoonotic and Abortifacient Pathogens in Cattle at a Wildlife-Livestock Interface in South Africa

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