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- Title
Coxiella burnetii átfertőzöttség mértéke az intenzív tejelő szarvasmarhatelepen dolgozó állatorvosok között.
- Authors
Attila, Dobos; Eszter, Balla
- Abstract
Background: Q fever is a zoonotic disease of worldwide distribution. Many studies have reported that goat, sheep and dairy cattle farmers and workers frequently exposed to these animals are the occupational group at the highest risk of acquiring infection by Coxiella burnetii. Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare Q fever infection rate among farm veterinarians in different countries based on the presence of IgG to phase I and phase II antigens of C. burnetii, in order to emphasise that veterinarians working on intensive large dairy farms are highly exposed to C. burnetii infection. Materials and methods: Blood samples were collected between May and September 2020 from 19 Hungarian and 5 Slovakian veterinarians working on large industrial dairy cattle farms. The serum samples were tested for the presence of IgG antibodies reacting with phase I and phase II antigens of C. burnetii strain Nine Mile using a commercially available immunofluorescence assay (Focus Diagnostics, Cypress, CA, USA). The test was performed according to the manufacturer's instructions in a reference laboratory at the National Public Health Centre, Budapest, Hungary. Questionnaires recorded the participants' demographic data, occupation, length of employment at the farm, and previous history of laboratory-diagnosed Q fever. Results and Discussion: Both IgG phase I and phase II antibodies were detected in 24 out of 24 (100%) serum samples tested. During the past few years we found a confirmed acute Q fever case in one veterinarian and 2 cases with a possible chronic Q fever. The 100% seropositivity found among dairy farm veterinarians was the highest of all figures previously reported by international surveys. Due to the high bacterial burden, the risk of Q fever is increasing in this occupational group, underlining the importance of monitoring the farm veterinarians by an obligatory yearly serological test for C. burnetii antibodies on national level. Particular attention should be paid to the clinical signs of chronic Q fever.
- Subjects
BUDAPEST (Hungary); Q fever; COXIELLA burnetii; ZOONOSES; DAIRY farms; DAIRY cattle; SYMPTOMS
- Publication
Magyar Állatorvosok Lapja, 2021, Vol 143, Issue 1, p11
- ISSN
0025-004X
- Publication type
Article