Investigating Coxiella burnetii infection in a breeding cattery at the centre of a Q fever outbreak

Abstract

The potential role of cats in transmitting Coxiella burnetii to humans was highlighted in a Q fever outbreak, linked to a caesarean section in a breeding queen, in an Australian small animal veterinary hospital. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the C burnetii seroreactivity of the breeding queen and other cats residing at the same breeding cattery (n = 27) and to evaluate C burnetii infection of the breeding queen by molecular and histological methods. Three assays [complement fixation test (CFT), indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)] were used for serological evaluation. Additionally, uterine and ovarian samples collected from the breeding queen 11 weeks post-parturition were assessed by routine and specialised histological methods and polymerase chain reaction. The breeding queen showed strong seropositivity using CFT (titre 1/32), IFA (titre phase I 1/8192 and phase II 1/8192) and ELISA; however, the reproductive tract showed no evidence of pathology or C burnetii infection. A number of cattery-confined cats were identified as seropositive to phase II and/or phase I C burnetii. Serological detection of C burnetii in a breeding cattery linked to a Q fever outbreak indicates likely infection by this bacterium in Australian feline populations, re-confirming the relevance of this zoonosis.

Molecular investigation into the presence of a Coxiella sp. in Rhipicephalus sanguineus ticks in Australia

“…Moreover, no molecular techniques were employed to verify the Coxiella species observed by Cooper et al (2011) or Shapiro et al (2016). Similarly in a Sydney veterinary clinic in 2010, where a number of clinical staff contracted a C. burnetii infection following caesarean of a breeding cat (Kopecny et al, 2013), despite positive serological tests from the cat in question and clinical staff to C. burnetii, parturient material did not show any histological evidence of sepsis and molecular analyses of C. burnetii failed to amplify the diagnostic targeted gene, IS1111.…”

“…Q fever is considered to occur worldwide, except in New Zealand (Greenslade et al, 2003). Traditionally considered an occupational risk for abattoir workers and farmers, exposure to C. burnetii can be acquired through contact with, and inhalation of, infected tissues from domestic ruminants and companion animals (Maurin and Raoult, 1999;Kopecny et al, 2013). Diagnosis is usually undertaken through serological testing with clinical presentations of Q fever ranging from acute to chronic and can include post-Q fever fatigue syndrome; asymptomatic Q fever represents over 54-60% of infections (Maurin and Raoult, 1999).…”

One Health research and training in Australia and New Zealand

“…The majority of research in Australia tends to focus on analysis of notified cases (35), unusual outbreaks, (36, 37), or animal and environmental sources (38). However, a recent study by Bond et al (39) demonstrated the application and outcomes of taking a One Health approach to an outbreak associated with a goat farm.…”

Retrospective Biomolecular Investigation of Coxiella burnetii and Leptospira spp. DNA in Cases of Abortion, Stillbirth and Neonatal Mortality in Dogs and Cats

“…6 Antibodies against C. burnetii have been detected in the serum of cats worldwide. 7 Moreover, it has been hypothesized that cats have been responsible for transmission of C. burnetii to humans in Q fever outbreaks due to exposure to parturient queens, in which various degrees of seroprevalence have been detected. 7À10 Nagaoka et al 11 provided the first evidence of active infection, isolating 9 of 29 cases of C. burnetii from vaginal swabs of domestic queens, and C. burnetii DNA was amplified through PCR assay from 3 out of 37 uterine tissues from cats with and without a history of reproductive abnormalities.…”