Prevalence of Coxiella burnetii in environmental samples collected from cattle farms in Eastern and Central Poland (2011–2012)

Abstract

Coxiella burnetii is the etiologic agent of Q fever. It may occur as two different morphological forms, a large cell variant (LCV) and a small cell variant (SCV). The SCV is characterized by unique resistance to physical and chemical factors and may survive in the environment for many months. The objective of this study was to examine environmental samples for the presence of C. burnetii using real-time PCR in areas where Q fever was previously reported and in randomly selected animal farms where Q fever was not reported. The samples were collected in the following provinces in Poland: Lublin, Subcarpathian and Masovian. Monitoring was performed with real-time PCR and serological methods. Of the 727 environmental samples, 33 (4.54%) contained the multi-copy insertion sequence IS1111, which is specific for C. burnetii. Subsequently, the presence of C. burnetii antibodies was determined using serological tests in selected herds in which positive genetic results were obtained. Serological analyses of 169 serum samples using CFT and ELISA were performed on Polish black-and-white Holstein-Friesian cows and one cow imported from Denmark. Using the CFT method, 11 samples were positive for phase I antibodies and six were positive for phase II antibodies. Moreover, in two cases, the presence of antibodies specific for both phase I and phase II antigens of C. burnetii was detected. However, of the 169 examined serum samples, 20 were positive by ELISA test, of which six were also positive by CFT. Additionally, multi spacer typing (MST) of isolated C. burnetii strains was performed. The MST results identified two new genotypes in Poland, ST3 and ST6. The results indicate that continued research regarding spread of this pathogen within a country is necessary.

Swab cloths as a tool for revealing environmental contamination by Q fever in ruminant farms

“…This epidemiological situation is in line with that of other countries where studies on Q fever have been conducted and which have reported high seroprevalence levels based on individual serum or bulk tank milk samples (EFSA, ; Georgiev et al., ; Pexara, Solomakos, & Govaris, ) and frequent detection of C. burnetii in the environment of ruminant farms (Bielawska‐Drozd et al., ; de Bruin, van der Plaats, et al., ). However, only a few studies detailed the bacterial loads detected in environmental samples (Kersh et al., , ).…”

Detection of Coxiella burnetii and Francisella tularensis in Tissues of Wild-living Animals and in Ticks of North-west Poland

“…Q fever research in Poland are based on immunological status of both domestic and wild-living animals (Niemczuk et al 2011). Only few studies involved molecular analyses of clinical or environmental material (arthropods) (Tylewska et al 1996;Szymańska et al 2013;Bielawska-Drózd et al 2014;Bielawska-Drózd et al 2016). Seven wild-living animals (three boars, three stags and one roe deer) were found positive for IS1111 + , characteristic of C. burnetii (3%).…”

Coxiella burnetii: living inside the host cell

“…It shows a biphasic developmental cycle in which goes through a small-cell variant (SCV) and a large-cell variant (LCV) (Wiebe et al, 1972;Howe and Mallavia, 2000;Sandoz et al, 2014). SCVs are the infectious form because they are more stable to environmental conditions than LCVs, and are also highly resistant to physical and chemical stresses (McCaul and Williams, 1981;Bielawska-Drózd et al, 2014).…”