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Exposure of small ruminants and humans to Coxiella burnetii in the semi-arid region of Northeastern Brazil

  • Veterinary and Animal Production - Research Paper
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Abstract

Q fever is a zoonotic disease caused by the obligate intracellular pathogen Coxiella burnetii, for which domestic ruminants are the primary source of infection in humans. Herein, we investigated the presence of C. burnetii in humans, sheep, and goats in the semi-arid region of northeastern Brazil. The presence of anti-C. burnetii antibodies was surveyed using indirect immunofluorescence assay, and detection of C. burnetii DNA was performed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Anti-C. burnetii antibodies were detected in 60% of farms, 4.8% of goats, 1.5% of sheep, and 4.5% of human samples. PCR was positive in 18.9% of blood samples, 7.7% of milk samples, and 7.7% of vaginal mucus samples. A DNA sequence of a C. burnetii DNA sample extracted from the goat vaginal mucus showed 99.2–99.4% nucleotide identity with other strains previously reported in Brazil. These results indicate that C. burnetii is present in the surveyed area, where it poses a risk to both public and animal health. These findings indicate an urgent need for educative actions to protect population, as well as better training of veterinarians to detect and report Q fever.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Anna Maria C.F. Evaristo and José E.S. Rocha for their help with field work; Marlene L. S. Peixoto from Secretaria Municipal de Saúde de Petrolina; and the Fundação de Amparo à Ciência e Tecnologia do Estado de Pernambuco (FACEPE) for providing financial support to Eline A.R. de Souza (IBPG-1014-5.05/17). M.B.L. and M.C.H. are recipients of research fellowships from CNPq (grant numbers 301641/2019-6 and 314019/2021-9, respectively).

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  1. Universidade Federal do Vale do São Francisco, Rodovia BR-407, KM 12 Lote 543 S/n Projeto de Irrigação Nilo Coelho, Petrolina, Pernambuco, 56300-000, Brazil

    Eline Almeida Rodrigues de Souza, Ila Ferreira Farias, Tainã Ramos Pesqueira, Thaís Souza Cunha, Elenice Andrade Moraes & Mauricio Claudio Horta

  2. Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil

    Eline Almeida Rodrigues de Souza & Mauricio Claudio Horta

  3. Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil

    Maria Carolina de Azevedo Serpa, Paulo Eduardo Brandão & Marcelo Bahia Labruna

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Contributions

Eline Almeida Rodrigues de Souza: Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing. Ila Ferreira de Farias: Methodology, Writing - original draft. Tainã Ramos Pesqueira: Methodology, Writing - original draft. Maria Carolina de Azevedo Serpa: Methodology. Thaís Souza Cunha: Methodology. Elenice Andrade de Moraes: Methodology, Writing - review & editing. Paulo Eduardo Brandão: Methodology, Writing - review & editing.

Marcelo Bahia Labruna: Conceptualization, Methodology, Resources, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing. Mauricio Claudio Horta: Conceptualization, Methodology, Resources, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing.

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Correspondence to Eline Almeida Rodrigues de Souza.

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de Souza, E.A.R., Farias, I.F., Pesqueira, T.R. et al. Exposure of small ruminants and humans to Coxiella burnetii in the semi-arid region of Northeastern Brazil. Braz J Microbiol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42770-024-01317-x

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