Serological survey of Coxiella burnetii at the wildlife–livestock interface in the Eastern Pyrenees, Spain

Abstract

Background Coxiella burnetii is a zoonotic bacterium that infects a wide range of animal species and causes the disease Q fever. Both wild and domestic ruminants may be relevant in the epidemiology of C. burnetii infection. In order to investigate the significance of the ruminant host community in the alpine and subalpine ecosystems of the Eastern Pyrenees, Northeastern Spain, in the epidemiology of Q fever, a serological survey was performed on samples from 599 wild and 353 sympatric domestic ruminants.ResultsSpecific antibodies against C. burnetii were detected with a commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Domestic sheep showed the highest prevalence (12.7 %, CI 95 % 8.6–16.9), followed by European mouflon (Ovis orientalis musimon) with a 6.8 % prevalence (CI 95 % 1.6–12.1), red deer (Cervus elaphus) with 2.4 % (CI 95 % 0–5.6), and cattle with a prevalence of 1.1 % (CI 95 % 0–3.2). No positive domestic goats, fallow deer (Dama dama), roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) and Southern chamois (Rupicapra pyrenaica) were detected. Sheep flock prevalence was 75 % (nine of the 12 sheep flocks sampled were positive, within-flock prevalence ranging from 11.1 to 25.0 %), whereas cattle herd prevalence was 11.1 % (one out of the nine cattle herds sampled was positive, within-herd prevalence of 10.0 %.ConclusionsBoth domestic and wild ruminants from the alpine and subalpine ecosystems of the Eastern Pyrenees were exposed to C. burnetii. The higher seroprevalence in sheep and its relative abundance suggest that this species may have a major contribution to the ecology of C. burnetii. Conversely, wild ruminants do not seem to represent a relevant host community for C. burnetii maintenance in the Eastern Pyrenees.

Management of Coxiella burnetii infection in livestock populations and the associated zoonotic risk: A consensus statement

“…Infected horses, mules and donkeys in rare cases can abort . C. burnetii shedding has been described in many species of wild animals commonly encountered on farms, including wild migratory and nonmigratory birds . Methods to reduce risk from these species, particularly those that are reproductively active, have not been shown yet to be effective; however, it might be prudent to restrict their access to livestock whenever feasible …”

A Nationwide Seroepidemiologic Study on Q Fever Antibodies in Sheep of Portugal

“…from 9.8% in the Basque country (northern country) to *30% in the islands of Canarias, considered a highly endemic region(Garcı ´a-Pe ´rez et al 2009, Rodriguez et al 2010, Ruiz-Fons et al 2010, Ferna ´ndez-Aguilar et al 2016, Bolan ˜os-Rivero et al 2017. In fact seroprevalence in sheep is estimated to be around 15-20% in many countries of the world(Guatteo et al 2011), which confirms that sheep of Portugal showed relatively low Q fever seroprevalence.When comparing anti-C. burnetii presence in sheep according to NUTS II distribution, a higher seroprevalence in the Center region can be observed when comparing to the other regions of Portugal.…”

Seroprevalence of Coxiella burnetii antibodies in wild deer populations in eastern Australia

“…The kit selected for this study (IDEXX Q-Fever [Coxiella burnetii] Antibody Test Kit, Idexx Laboratories, Rydalmere, NSW, Australia) is validated for ruminants, 32,33 but has previously been used for the detection of antibodies in deer sera. [22][23][24] 96-well plate, positive and negative controls were assayed in duplicate and the mean optical density (OD) of each was used for calculations.…”

“…The IDEXX ELISA was selected over other commercial ELISA kits on the market as reports exist in the literature of its successful use with cervid samples. [22][23][24] Furthermore, one such study demonstrated binding of IgG from Korean water deer to the anti-ruminant IgG in the IDEXX ELISA Chekit Q Fever kit. 24 Considering this and the lack of validated tests for wild species, the use of commercial kits for closely related species is justifiable.…”

“…In Europe and North America, wild rabbits and hares have been implicated as a likely reservoir of C. burnetii, 3,20,21 with research ongoing into the seroprevalence in wild rabbits in Australia. Likewise, it has been shown overseas that deer may harbour C. burnetii [22][23][24] ; however, the current C. burnetii infection status of Australian wild deer populations is unknown. Like macropods, wild deer in agricultural areas may have direct or indirect contact with livestock, and they may be implicated in the spread of many important ruminant diseases including coxiellosis.…”