Q fever and animal abortion in Cyprus

Abstract

Seventy-eight British soldiers stationed in the Eastern Sovereign Base Area (ESBA) in Cyprus contracted Q fever in the period December 1974 to June 1975. Pneumonia developed in 59% of cases. Of 31 patients tested, 81% had biochemical evidence of hepatitis although only one became clinically jaundiced. Three patients (4%) suffered pericarditis. Treatment with tetracycline had no apparent effect on the course of the disease. Investigation revealed an abortion epidemic involving 21 mixed flocks of sheep and goats in the south-eastern coastal region. 11 of the flocks grazed in and around the ESBA. A serological survey of 10 affected flocks, and evidence collected from previous years, indicated that the abortion epidemic was the result of infection with Coxiella burneti. Infection in the humans was almost certainly acquired by inhalation of dust from brush contaminated with rickettsial parturition products of the aborting flocks. A human serological survey revealed a number of cases of subclinical Q fever in a susceptivle military population, and an asymptomatic epidemic in a largely immune local position.

Isolation of Coxiella burnetii by a centrifugation shell-vial assay from ticks collected in Cyprus: detection by nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and by PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism analyses.

“…5 In Cyprus, seroepidemiological studies have shown the presence of C. burnetii in both human and animal populations attributable to the close association between rural families and their livestock. 16,17 Although these studies provide important information concerning the prevalence of Q fever in the island, the detection, isolation, and subsequent identification and categorization of C. burnetii strains into pathogenic or nonpathogenic is of critical importance in the understanding of the epidemiology, natural history, and potential threat to human health by these bacteria. Large-scale tick studies are difficult to carry out because classic techniques are time-and material-consuming; they also require viable ticks for hemolymph testing or ticks frozen at Ϫ80ЊC for shell-vial centrifugation.…”

Goat-Associated Q Fever: A New Disease in Newfoundland

“…This method of disposal represents potential sources of exposure for surrounding communities. Inhalation of C. burnetii from contaminated environments is well documented, and contaminated fields and roads often serve as reservoirs for airborne spread of C. burnetii (5,18,22,27,28). Studies from Europe demonstrate that wind can spread C. burnetii >18 km from its source (29).…”

“…Goats have been implicated in outbreaks of Q fever in the United States, Ontario, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Greece, and Australia, and have replaced sheep and cattle as the most common source of human infection with C. burnetii in Bulgaria (17)(18)(19)). An estimated 20% of Ontario's dairy goat population have antibodies to C. burnetii (20).…”

Livestock Production and Livestock Products in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC): A Field Study and Literature Review

“…The infection in soldiers was almost certainly from inhalation of dust from vegetation contaminated with rickettsial parturition products from the aborting flocks. A human serological survey identified several cases of subclinical Q fever in a susceptible military population and an asymptomatic epidemic in a largely immune local population [24]. Q fever is mainly subclinical but is associated with late abortions, stillbirths, weak offspring, metritis and infertility in ruminants but sheep and goats are most affected and abortions are rare in dairy cows.…”