Coxiella burnetii seroprevalence in sheep herd from Paraguay: First evidence of bacterial circulation in the country
Danilo Alves de França,
Filipe Pereira da Silva,
Dayane da Silva Zanini,
Lorena Iglesias,
Laura Portillo,
Herminia Cortez,
Alexander Welker Biondo,
Ana Íris de Lima Duré,
Marcos Vinicius Ferreira Silva,
Jorge Miret,
Helio Langoni
Affiliations
Danilo Alves de França
São Paulo State University, Prof. Doutor Walter Mauricio Correa, s/n, Unesp Campus de Botucatu, Botucatu, São Paulo 18618-681, Brazil
Filipe Pereira da Silva
Octavio Magalhaes Institute, Prof. Octavio Coelho De Magalhaes, s/n, Fundação Ezequiel Dias, Belo Horizonte 30210-290, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Dayane da Silva Zanini
São Paulo State University, Prof. Doutor Walter Mauricio Correa, s/n, Unesp Campus de Botucatu, Botucatu, São Paulo 18618-681, Brazil
Lorena Iglesias
Universidad Nacional de Canindeyú, Calle Itambey, Curuguaty 140802, Paraguay
Laura Portillo
Universidad Nacional de Canindeyú, Calle Itambey, Curuguaty 140802, Paraguay
Herminia Cortez
Universidad Nacional de Canindeyú, Calle Itambey, Curuguaty 140802, Paraguay
Alexander Welker Biondo
Federal University of Paraná, Rua Dr Faivre, 405, Curitiba 140802, Paraná, Brazil
Ana Íris de Lima Duré
Octavio Magalhaes Institute, Prof. Octavio Coelho De Magalhaes, s/n, Fundação Ezequiel Dias, Belo Horizonte 30210-290, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Marcos Vinicius Ferreira Silva
Octavio Magalhaes Institute, Prof. Octavio Coelho De Magalhaes, s/n, Fundação Ezequiel Dias, Belo Horizonte 30210-290, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Jorge Miret
Universidad Nacional de Canindeyú, Calle Itambey, Curuguaty 140802, Paraguay
Helio Langoni
São Paulo State University, Prof. Doutor Walter Mauricio Correa, s/n, Unesp Campus de Botucatu, Botucatu, São Paulo 18618-681, Brazil; Corresponding author.
Coxiella burnetii is the agent of Q fever, a disease that poses risks to public health and damages livestock. We discovered the circulation of C. burnetii for the first time in Paraguay, based on the seropositivity of a flock of >300 sheep. The animals were tested by IFA for anti-C. burnetii antibodies and by SAM for anti-Leptospira spp. antibodies, an important differential diagnosis for reproductive disorders in sheep in Paraguay. C. burnetii seropositivity was determined in 45%, in contrast to Leptospira spp. which had no reactive samples. Cases of miscarriage and fetal resorption were associated with high seropositivity titers. This study suggests the circulation of a unique genotype in the country and an imminent risk to public health, since in addition to being highly transmissible and infectious to humans, Q fever is still not a cause for concern on the part of government and health agencies in the country.
