Emerging evidence for Q fever in humans in Denmark: role of contact with dairy cattle

Abstract

Until recently, Q fever was notified in very low numbers annually in Denmark and it was always considered to be acquired abroad. Preliminary reports now describe Coxiella burnetii in milk samples from Danish dairy cattle. Serum samples of a large cohort of farmers, veterinarians, inseminators and hoof trimmers, all having occupational contact with dairy cattle, were tested for the presence of IgG to phase I and phase II antigens of C. burnetii. In 39 of 359 individuals studied (11%), the presence of antibodies to C. burnetii was found. Veterinarians had the highest seropositivity rate (36%). This survey suggests that C. burnetii is a recently recognized domestic infection in Denmark and that risk of infection is associated with occupation.

High Seroprevalence ofCoxiella burnetiiAntibodies in Veterinarians Associated with Cattle Obstetrics, Bavaria, 2009

“…The seroprevalence we found was considerably higher than the 0-18% derived from a small study among the general population in Baden-Wuerttemberg, the federal state neighboring Bavaria (Brockmann et al, in preparation). It was also higher than the 13-22% found in studies among veterinarians in the United States, Australia, Japan, and Slovakia (Casolin 1999;Abe et al 2001;Dorko et al 2008;Whitney et al 2009), but comparable to the 36% found in Denmark (Bosnjak et al 2010). Whether the high seroprevalence correlates with a high disease burden cannot be explained by our study.…”

“…In two small descriptive studies from Denmark and Slovakia, 36% and 15%, respectively, of tested veterinarians were seropositive for C. burnetii (Dorko et al 2008;Bosnjak et al 2010), emphasizing the need for more in-depth analyses.…”

Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes andCoxiella burnetiiAntibodies in Pregnant Women, Denmark

“…A recent study of the seroprevalence of C. burnetii in cattle found that bulk-tank milk samples tested positive for C. burnetii at 59 of 100 randomly selected farms ( 16 ). In addition, the reported prevalence of antibodies to C. burnetii among veterinarians in Denmark ranges from 36% to 47% ( 1 , 2 , 17 ). These findings show that exposure to C. burnetii is common in this country in the animal reservoir and in those who are occupationally exposed to livestock or who live in rural areas with livestock contact.…”

Compendium of Veterinary Standard Precautions for Zoonotic Disease Prevention in Veterinary Personnel: National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians: Veterinary Infection Control Committee 2015

“…14,15 Documented zoonotic infections in veterinary personnel include the following: salmonellosis, [16][17][18][19] cryptosporidiosis, [20][21][22][23][24][25] plague, 26,27 sporotrichosis, [28][29][30][31][32] methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection, [33][34][35] psittacosis, [36][37][38][39] dermatophytosis, 40,41 leptospirosis, [42][43][44] bartonellosis, 45,46 and Q fever. [47][48][49][50] The American Association of Feline Practitioners published feline zoonoses guidelines in 2005 to provide veterinarians with educational information for clients and to highlight infection control procedures for small animal hospitals. 51 In 2006, the NASPHV published online the first Compendium of Veterinary Standard Precautions that systematically addressed various infection prevention strategies specifically for veterinary personnel.…”