Animals (May 2021)

One Health Approach: An Overview of Q Fever in Livestock, Wildlife and Humans in Asturias (Northwestern Spain)

  • Alberto Espí,
  • Ana del Cerro,
  • Álvaro Oleaga,
  • Mercedes Rodríguez-Pérez,
  • Ceferino M. López,
  • Ana Hurtado,
  • Luís D. Rodríguez-Martínez,
  • Jesús F. Barandika,
  • Ana L. García-Pérez

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11051395
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11, no. 5
p. 1395

Abstract

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This study aimed to investigate the seroprevalence of C. burnetii in domestic ruminants, wild ungulates, as well as the current situation of Q fever in humans in a small region in northwestern Spain where a close contact at the wildlife–livestock–human interface exists, and information on C. burnetii infection is scarce. Seroprevalence of C. burnetii was 8.4% in sheep, 18.4% in cattle, and 24.4% in goats. Real-time PCR analysis of environmental samples collected in 25 livestock farms detected Coxiella DNA in dust and/or aerosols collected in 20 of them. Analysis of sera from 327 wild ungulates revealed lower seroprevalence than that found in domestic ruminants, with 8.4% of Iberian red deer, 7.3% chamois, 6.9% fallow deer, 5.5% European wild boar and 3.5% of roe deer harboring antibodies to C. burnetii. Exposure to the pathogen in humans was determined by IFAT analysis of 1312 blood samples collected from patients admitted at healthcare centers with Q fever compatible symptoms, such as fever and/or pneumonia. Results showed that 15.9% of the patients had IFAT titers ≥ 1/128 suggestive of probable acute infection. This study is an example of a One Health approach with medical and veterinary institutions involved in investigating zoonotic diseases.

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