Human Coxiella burnetii Infections in Regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2002

Abstract

Acute infections in humans and animals caused by Coxiella burnetii (C. burnetii) are becoming an important medical problem for Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H). From a clinical and epidemiological aspect, Q fever represents a complex medical problem, considering that one of the highest incidence rates of Q fever in Europe has been recorded during the last few years in B&H. The first case of this disease in B&H was described in 1950, by Muray et al., and the first epidemic, with 16 infected individuals, was recorded the same year. Confirmed animal infections by C. burnetii in B&H were first reported in 1985 when, of all tested sheep, positive results were found in 12.4%. During 2001, 2.11% of tested sheep and goats were found to have a positive result, which was also confirmed by studies from the following years in particular regions of B&H. These studies suggest that endemic loci of infected animals are established in particular geographic regions in B&H, which is important to emphasize for better understanding of the sources and routes of C. burnetii transmission to the human population. This conclusion is based on the studies from 2000, when 2.17% of positive cattle, 1.85% of positive sheep, and 0.27% of positive goats were registered. During the same period, in B&H, in 6 different regions, 156 individuals with Q fever were registered as were 3 separate epidemics with 115 infected individuals. Official data on the number of detected animal C. burnetii infections during 2002 suggest that 10 positive cattle and 88 positive sheep or goats were registered. During 2003, 24 positive cattle, 29 positive goats, and 167 positive sheep were detected, while in 2004, 71 positive cattle, 4 positive goats, 37 positive sheep, and 72 positive animals from the sheep-goat group were registered. According to official reports from 2001, 19 individuals with Q fever were registered in B&H, while in 2002, the number of infected individuals increased to 250. In five cantons in B&H, 43 infected individuals were registered during 2002, while in Republika Srpska of B&H, 207 infected individuals in the region of Banja Luka were registered. From 1998 to 2003, 373 individuals with Q fever were reported in B&H, whereof 265 individuals (71.04%) were infected during epidemics, and 108 (28.95%) sporadically. Q fever incidence rates in B&H were high during 1998 (5.68%ooo) and very high in 2000, with 115 individuals with an acute clinical form and an incidence rate of 6.95%ooo. The incubation time varied between 9 and 28 days.

The serological prevalence of Coxiella burnetii antibodies in sheep and goats in northern Greece

“…Seroprevalence analysis in Italy indicated that the C. burnetii distribution in sheep and goats is very high (38% and 47% respectively). A considerable number of Q-fever outbreaks have been observed in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where sheep and goats have been shown to be the source of infection in humans [5].…”

Coxiella burnetii seroprevalence in sheep herd from Paraguay: First evidence of bacterial circulation in the country

“…In other regions of the world, sheep seroprevalence ranges from 16.5% to 80% [ 37 ]. An outbreak of Q fever in Netherlands and an outbreak in Bosnia-Herzegovina showed that sheep, along with goats, are the main source of infection for humans [ [38] , [39] , [40] ].…”

Eight New Genomes and Synthetic Controls Increase the Accessibility of Rapid Melt-MAMA SNP Typing of Coxiella burnetii

“…In recent years, its prevalence in both humans and animals has increased significantly in Europe [1]–[7]. In particular, the epidemic in the Netherlands in 2009 left almost 4,000 patients diagnosed with this disease, has highlighted the demand for improved more selective tools for its diagnosis and for the typing of C. burnetii , based on methods that have high levels of inter-laboratory reproducibility and that can be performed at non-specialized laboratories (Fig.…”