Seroprevalence of Q fever among high-risk occupations in the Ilam province, the west of Iran

Abstract

Background Q fever is a zoonotic disease of great public health importance in Iran. This disease is presented with high phase I antibody development in chronic and high phase II antibody in the acute form of illness. This study was conducted to evaluate the seroprevalence of Q fever among high-risk occupations in the Ilam province in Western Iran. Methods and findings In this cross-sectional study, 367 sera samples were collected from five groups comprised of animal husbandry workers, farmers, butchers, slaughterhouse workers, and park rangers. The collected sera were tested for IgG antibodies against Coxiella burnetii using ELISA. The seroprevalence of antibodies against C . burnetii in phase I and II was 24.38% and 26.37%, respectively (i.e., 32.42% overall). Low educational level, living in rural areas, keeping sheep/goats, ages older than 50 years, and a history of arthropod bites positively correlated with increased risk of Q fever infection. Animal husbandry workers (45.13%) were at higher risk of contracting Q fever compared with other occupations in the study (17.11%). Conclusions High seroprevalence of C . burnetii among high-risk occupations is a serious challenge in the Ilam province. In addition, the high seroprevalence of endemic Q fever in rural and nomadic areas and a higher concentration of occupations who are directly engaged with livestock demonstrate the critical need for preventive medicine education and training in regards to mitigating risk for disease contraction in susceptible groups.

High prevalence of Coxiella burnetii infection in humans and livestock in Assiut, Egypt: A serological and molecular survey

“…Further, they demonstrate high seroprevalence of endemic Q fever in the countryside and in Bedouin populations. Furthermore, higher prevalence has been detected among people who have close engagement with livestock due to their occupations, such as animal husbandry workers (45.13%) [ 42 ].…”

Coxiella burnetii Infection in Milk of Cattle and The Risk of Human Infection in Menoufia Governorate.

“…In addition, Park et al (2018) declared that the seroprevalence rate of anti-C. burnetii phase II IgG antibodies was higher 13.46% (7 out of 52) among dairy cattle farmers who had the habit of consumption of raw cow milk in Korea versus a seroprevalence rate of 10.88% (127 out of 1,167) among those who didn't ever consume raw cow milk. As well, Mostafavi et al (2019) showed that the Iranian humans who consumed unpasteurized milk and dairy products had a higher seroprevalence rate of anti-C. burnetii phase II IgG antibodies 37.43% (67 out of 179) in comparison with a seroprevalence rate of 28.18% (51 out of 181) among those who didn't. On the contrary, Wardrop et al (2016) found in their study on humans in Kenya that there was no evidence of a correlation between consumption of cattle milk and C. burnetii seropositivity among humans.…”

Global infectious disease risks associated with occupational exposure among non-healthcare workers: a systematic review of the literature

“…Avian influenza virus Moderate poultry exposure (301-900 poultry-years) 21 Professional classification as a poultry seller 22 ≥10 years of occupational exposure 23 Another stall nearby, number of cages (more than five) 24 Workplaces near locations where H5N2 outbreaks in poultry were reported 25 Wholesale/retail live poultry markets 26 Female gender 22 23 Male gender 27 28 Coxiella burnetii Contact with small ruminants (sheep and goats) 29 Cattle contact at own or other farm 30 Keeping sheep or goats, exposure to arthropod bites 31 ≥3 daily goat-related tasks (milking, feeding, supply and removal, general animal healthcare and birth assistance), other goat breeds next to white dairy goat 32 Milking cattle, general healthcare of cattle, birth assistance, contact with raw milk, contact with cattle manure, contact with dead-born animals 33 Presence of cat(s) in goat stable, distance residence to nearest stable ≤10 m, distance to nearest positive farm 0-<4 km 28 Passed through the stores 34 Full working week, worked in cattle sector in the past 30 Age >50 years), rural area of residence, having little or no formal education 31 Lived as child on a ruminant farm, no farm boots for staff 32 Male gender 34 No respiratory protection mask 35 Living in rural areas 36 Hepatitis E virus Abattoir work, sewage work 37 Occupational contact with animals (forestry/pig farm workers) 38 Slaughterers 39 Exposure to soil, contact with swine 40 Having professions with exposure to pigs for more than 16.5 years 41 Unorganised swine farming 37 Woodcutting 42 Raw seafood processing 43 Feeding of pigs 44 Previous mission abroad (military forces) 45 Consumption of pork-liver sausages 37 Residence area 40 Age≥50 years, age group 25-34 years, ascending age, ages 40-49, 50-59, ≥60 and over 40 years 38 44 46-48 ≥7 working years ...…”