Q fever is a zoonotic disease that occurs worldwide and is caused by the obligate intracellular bacterium Coxiella burnetii. Infected animals are usually asymptomatic, but infection can cause abortion and stillbirth in ruminants. The main purpose of this study was to evaluate prevalance of Coxiella burnetii infection in aborted and nonaborted sheep serum samples in Eastern Anatolia region by using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The determine of prevalance in sheep flocks from four provinces (Elazig, Malatya, Tunceli, Bitlis) and tested for anti-C.burnetii antibody detection, by means of Chekit Q fever Elisa kit. 350 serum samples obtained from flocks belonging aborted sheep showed that a total of 56 (16%) were detected seropositivity, whereas 171 serum samples obtained from nonaborted sheep flocks in 13 of the 171 (7.60%) for C.burnetii in seropositivity were observed. Coxiellosis should be considered an important cause of sheep with abortion history and nonaborted in Elazig and neighboring provinces.

A study of the correlation between Coxiella burnetii seropositivity and&nbsp;abortions in sheep in Eastern and Southeastern Turkey

<div>Abortion is the major reproductive problem in goats faced by goat-keepers. Abortion in animals including goats is caused mainly by infectious agents. The current study was planned to assess the presence of Brucella melitensis, Chlamydophila spp., Campylobacter spp., Brucella abortus and Coxiella burnetii in the genital tracts of goats and foetal stomach contents. A total of 260 biological samples (vaginal/preputial secretions and foetal stomach contents) were randomly collected from the goats. The genomic DNA extraction from the samples was done by using the commercial kit. The detection of the targeted infectious agents in the biological samples was done by species as well as genus-specific polymerase chain reactions. Standardization of PCRs was done using gradient PCR. The PCR products were run in a 1% agarose gel to determine the gene size. Out of 260 samples, the presence of Coxiella burnetii was not detected in any sample. Brucella abortus was detected in two aborted goats. Only 10 samples out of 260 (6 vaginal swabs from the aborted goats and 4 foetal stomach contents) were found positive for Brucella melitensis. A total of 117 samples were found positive for Chlamydophila spp., whereas 84 were found positive for Campylobacter spp. A total of 63 samples were found positive for both Chlamydophila spp. and Campylobacter spp. The present study concludes that Chlamydophila and Campylobacter spp. were found as the prevalent microbial agents, which may be associated with abortion in goats in the forthcoming pregnancies in adverse conditions.</div>

Molecular Detection of Brucella melitensis, Chlamydophila spp., Campylobacter spp., Brucella abortus and Coxiella burnetii in Genital Tracts of Goats

A study of the correlation between Coxiella burnetii seropositivity and abortions in sheep in Eastern and Southeastern Turkey

Molecular Detection of Brucella melitensis, Chlamydophila spp., Campylobacter spp., Brucella abortus and Coxiella burnetii in Genital Tracts of Goats