Coxiella seroprevalence and risk factors in large ruminants in Bihar and Assam, India

Apparent prevalence and risk factors of coxiellosis (Q fever) among dairy herds in India

“…The biosecurity conditions of all the farms (except farm 7 and 8) were found to be not adequate. The importance of quarantine and other biosecurity measures for coxiellosis has been discussed in recent studies [11,35]. However, in this study, none of the dairy farms were following standard quarantine measures for animals, except at farms 7 and 8, wherein the imported animals were observed for fever, diarrhoea, mastitis and brucellosis for 1-2 days.…”

“…However, in Iran, milk samples revealed higher prevalence of anti-C. burnetii antibodies among buffaloes (19.3%) as compared to cattle [20]. Previous studies from India reported prevalence of coxiellosis in bovines ranging from 05.55% to 29.9% [10,11,14,15]. The C. burnetii detection rate by trans-PCR (8.5%) was significantly higher (p<0.05) as compared to com1-PCR (6.5%) among samples collected from cattle.…”

“…The location details of the selected farms and number of bovines screened are presented in Table 1. A comprehensive review of literature was conducted to develop a questionnaire comprising of 21 parameters pertaining to animal health and farm management practices (S1 Table) for identification of potential risk factors for coxiellosis in ruminants [1,5,7,11]. Epidemiological data was collected through the questionnaire while collecting the samples (S1 Table).…”

“…In developing countries, due to sparse availability of diagnostic facilities, limited number of epidemiological studies on C. burnetii had been carried out [10,11]. The standard routine laboratory culture methods are not appropriate to grow the pathogen and the isolation procedures require biosafety level 3 (BSL3) facilities with appropriate personal protective equipment (s) [1].…”

“…In India, coxiellosis or Q fever remains a neglected zoonosis and lack appropriate clinical attention mainly due to the lack of epidemiological data and diagnostics, poor disease surveillance, and lack of disease awareness even among the public health professionals including veterinarians and clinicians [10,11,14,15]. The objectives of the present study were to investigate C. burnetii infection in bovines (cattle and buffaloes) from different geographical regions of India and to identify the potential risk factors at farm level.…”