Seroprevalence and molecular characterization of Chlamydia abortus in frozen fetal and placental tissues of aborting ewes in northeastern Algeria

Abstract

Enzootic abortion of ewes is one of the most serious health problems in sheep flocks worldwide. It has a significant economic impact because abortion, decrease in milk production and weak lambs. Besides, the bacteria is zoonotic. A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the seroprevalence and risk factors associated with Chlamydia abortus infection in 552 ewes in Constantine using a C. abortus-specific indirect ELISA kit. Chlamydial DNA was investigated in ten ovine fetuses and eight placentas using PCR- restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) and DNA sequencing. The study concluded that 7.2 % of ewes were seropositive and 33.3 % of sheep flocks had at least one seropositive ewe. Adjacent farmworker visits (OR = 7.667, 95 % CI (OR) = 2.307; 27.203) was defined as a risk factor. Deliveries of weak lambs (OR = 2.920, 95 % CI (OR) = 1.022; 8.342) and septicemia in lambs (OR = 9.971, 95 % CI (OR) = 2.383; 41.713) were significantly associated with chlamydial infection. PCR-RFLP analysis revealed positive signals to C. abortus in six fetuses and four placentas. Sequencing of the omp2 gene revealed that the Algerian strain is 96 % similar with C. abortus FAS strain. C. abortus plays a major role in abortion in northeastern Algeria. Appropriate control measures must be implemented to reduce economic losses and to avoid human contamination.

Sero-Epidemiological Study of Selected Zoonotic and Abortifacient Pathogens in Cattle at a Wildlife-Livestock Interface in South Africa

“…The high degree of clustering, particularly of C. burnetii and T. gondii, evidenced by the large variation in seroprevalence between locations and their high ICCs, is likely due to risk factors that vary geographically within the study area; these require further investigation. These three zoonotic pathogens, two bacteria (C. burnetii and C. abortus) and a protozoan parasite (T. gondii), also share common modes of transmission, mainly through ingestion, transplacental, and/or inhalation (Saeij et al 2005, Frangoulidis and Fischer 2015, Szymańska-Czerwińska et al 2015, Hireche et al 2016, Heidari et al 2018, which could have contributed to the similar patterns of occurrence in our study.…”

“…Chlamydophila abortus is a recognized cause of abortion in small ruminants (Loureiro et al 2017, Heidari et al 2018, cattle (Osman et al 2012, Wheelhouse et al 2015, and humans (Pospischil et al 2002). It is an important zoonotic agent and has been associated with abortions and other reproductive problems in livestock (Borel et al 2006, Hireche et al 2016. Seroprevalence studies on exposure to C. abortus have been conducted in apparently healthy dairy cattle in Jordan (Talafha et al 2012), riverine buffalo in Egypt (Osman et al 2012), free-ranging European bison in Poland (Salwa et al 2007), and in wild mammals in Serengeti National Park in Tanzania (Pospichil et al 2012).…”

Improving sensitivity of single tube nested PCR to detect fastidious microorganisms

“…In Turkey, C. abortus was identified in 9.86 % of aborted fetuses from sheep and goat using cell culture and PCR [30]. In Algeria, 7.2 % of ewes were seropositive and 33.3 % of sheep flocks had at least one seropositive ewe when testing frozen fetal and placental tissues of aborting ewes using a C. abortus-specific indirect ELISA kit [31]. On the other hand, serological examination of the sheep using the ID ScreenTM C. abortus indirect multi-species antibody ELISA in Belgium, revealed a low seroprevalence rate of 0.68% [32].…”

Prospective cohort study reveals unexpected aetiologies of livestock abortion in northern Tanzania

“…Chlamydia abortus is one of the most common causes of infectious ovine abortion worldwide, including the UK, the USA and most of northern Europe but has not been found to be an abortion issue in sheep in Australia or New Zealand (Essig & Longbottom, 2015) and there is little available information from the African continent, other than in a few select countries (e.g. Tunisia, Algeria, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and Morocco (Benkirane, Jabli, & Rodolakis, 1990;Hireche, Ababneh, Bouaziz, & Boussena, 2016;Rekiki et al, 2002;Seth-Smith et al, 2017). In tropical areas, epidemic-prone pathogens, such as Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) which poses a severe health threat to both animals and people, are also a concern (Budasha, Gonzalez, Sebhatu, & Arnold, 2018).…”