Isolation of Coxiella burnetii from Dairy Cattle and Ticks, and Some Characteristics of the Isolates in Japan

Abstract

Coxiella burnetii was isolated from raw milk (36/214, 16.8%) and uterus swab samples (13/61, 21.3 %) originating from dairy cattle with reproductive disorders, aborted bovine fetus samples (2/4, 50%), mammary gland samples (4/50, 8%) originating from healthy dairy cattle, and tick samples (4/15, 26.7%) originating from 2 pastures. Fifty-nine strains had various degrees of pathogenicity, high (8; 13.6%), moderate (28; 47.5%) and low (23; 39%), for guinea pigs. The results of isolation suggested a high prevalence of Coxiella infection in dairy cattle with reproductive problems in Japan. Twelve strains (7, 2 and 3 strains from cattle, ticks and humans, respectively) and the reference Nine Mile strain of phases I and II were propagated in both yolk sacs of embryonated hen eggs and Buffalo green monkey (BGM) cell cultures. Protein profiles of these strains were similar to those of the reference strain of phase I. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) profiles of 12 strains were similar to those of the reference strain of phase I and different from those of the reference strain of phase II. The LPS profiles of 12 strains suggested that these strains are associated with an acute form of Q fever.

Differentiation of Coxiella burnetii by Sequence Analysis of the Gene (com1) Encoding a 27‐kDa Outer Membrane Protein

“…Mallavia of Washington State University, Wash., U.S.A., 2 strains (MAN and ME) kindly provided by Dr. J. Kazar of the Institute of Virology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Slovak, and 10 Japanese isolates (1M, 3M, 27M, 60M, 82M, 50F, 57T, 58T, 59T and 605) from our laboratory (7). The original sources, pathogenic characteristics and genetic properties of these strains are summarized in Table 1.…”

“…We have cultured many isolates of C. burnetii from cattle, ticks and humans with acute Q fever, and have shown differences in the pathogenicity of Japanese isolates using guinea pigs (7,8). However, the genetic characteristics of the Japanese isolates are still unknown.…”

Experimental Coxiella burnetii infection in pregnant goats: excretion routes

“…After becoming infected, female animals shed large quantities of Coxiella into the 424 N. Arricau Bouvery et al environment during abortion or normal delivery through birth fluids, placenta and fetal membranes [3,6,23,24,32]. Moreover, following parturition, these infected animals excrete the bacteria via the urine, feces, vaginal discharges and milk for several months [10,17,19,20]. Nevertheless, the C. burnetii shedding kinetics is not well known.…”

Isolation of Coxiella burnetii from the Vagina of Feline Clients at Veterinary Clinics.

“…In Japan, cattle as well as ticks were shown to carry the organism in 1995 [4], followed by the evidence of human infection in 1996 [11]. On the other hand, some pet animals including cats were serologically suspected of possible source of human infections [5,10].…”