Sero-epidemiological survey of Coxiella burnetii in livestock and humans in Tana River and Garissa counties in Kenya

Abstract

Background Coxiella burnetii is a widely distributed pathogen, but data on its epidemiology in livestock, and human populations remains scanty, especially in developing countries such as Kenya. We used the One Health approach to estimate the seroprevalance of C. burnetii in cattle, sheep, goats and human populations in Tana River county, and in humans in Garissa county, Kenya. We also identified potential determinants of exposure among these hosts. Methods Data were collected through a cross-sectional study with a cluster sampling design. Serum samples were taken from 2,727 animals (466 cattle, 1,333 goats, and 928 sheep) and 974 humans and screened for Phase I/II IgG antibodies against C. burnetii using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Data on potential factors associated with animal and human exposure were collected using a structured questionnaire. Multivariable analyses were performed with households as random effects to adjust for the within-household correlation of C. burnetii exposure among animals and humans, respectively. Results The overall apparent seroprevalence estimates of C. burnetii in livestock and humans were 12.80% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 11.57–14.11) and 24.44% (95% CI: 21.77–27.26), respectively. In livestock, the seroprevalence differed significantly by species (p < 0.01). The highest seroprevalence estimates were observed in goats 15.22% (95% CI: 13.34–17.27), then sheep 14.22% (95% CI: 12.04–16.64) and with cattle 3.00% (95% CI; 1.65–4.99) showing lower values. Herd-level seropositivity of C. burnetii in livestock was not positively associated with human exposure. Multivariable results showed that female animals had higher odds of seropositivity for C. burnetii than males, while for animal age groups, adult animals had higher odds of seropositivity than calves, kids or lambs. For livestock species, both sheep and goats had significantly higher odds of seropositivity than cattle. In human populations, men had a significantly higher odds of testing positive for C. burnetii than women. Conclusions This study provides evidence of livestock and human exposure to C. burnetii which could have serious economic implications on livestock production and impact on human health. These results also highlight the need to establish active surveillance in the study area to reduce the disease burden associated with this pathogen.

Prevalence and risk factors of Q fever (Coxiella burnetii) in cattle on farms of Limpopo province, South Africa

“…Seroprevalences of 6.5% using complement fixation test and 32% using commercial ELISA kit were reported in Malawi and Cameroon’s Adamawa region cattle by Staley et al ( 33 ) and Scolamacchia et al ( 31 ), respectively. Mwololo et al ( 13 ) reported a seroprevalence of 3.00% in cattle in Kenya’s Tana River and Garissa counties using iELISA.…”

“…The disease has been reported worldwide except in New Zealand, and there are a few reports of C. burnetii infection in South African livestock ( 10 , 11 ). Q fever seroprevalence in cattle has been reported in Zimbabwe ( 12 ), Kenya ( 13 ), Algeria ( 14 ) and in Nigeria ( 15 ). In the Netherlands the economic costs of the Q fever outbreak (2007–2010) in about 4,000 human cases acquired from infected dairy goat farms were estimated to be ~0.307 billion EUR ( 16 ).…”

Epidemiologic study of q fever in smallholder dairy cattle in selected regions of Tanzania

“…This study presents large overall seroprevalence compared to other two studies conducted in northern Africa by Horton et al (2014) and Derdour et al (2017). It aligns with the findings by Depuy et al (2014) in Kenya and reports lower seroprevalence compared to those reported in other three African countries (Adamu et al, 2018;Deressa et al, 2020;Kazwala 2016;Larson et al, 2019;Mwololo et al, 2015;Kelly et al, 2021;Ameur et al, 2018;Menadi et al, 2020). Additionally a recent systematic review of Q fever in domestic ruminants in Africa reported a seroprevalence range estimates of 3-89.7% in East Africa both in dairy and local breeds of cattle (Bwatota et al, 2022).…”

Distribution and Prevalence of Coxiella burnetii in Animals, Humans, and Ticks in Nigeria: A Systematic Review

“…Cadmus et al [32] reported 61.3% seroprevalence for C. burnetii from 137 individuals screened from Sokoto, while 12.0% seroprevalence was reported in Taraba [25]. A similar finding from the studies conducted outside Nigeria in Tana and Garissa in Kenya indicated a prevalence of 24.44% for C. burnetii from 974 individuals screened [60], while a lower prevalence of 2.3% was reported in western Kenya [61].…”