title: Investigating Coxiella burnetii infection in a breeding cattery at the centre of a Q fever outbreak.
abstract: The potential role of cats in transmitting Coxiella burnetii to humans was highlighted in a Q fever outbreak, linked to a caesarean section in a breeding queen, in an Australian small animal veterinary hospital. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the C burnetii seroreactivity of the breeding queen and other cats residing at the same breeding cattery (n = 27) and to evaluate C burnetii infection of the breeding queen by molecular and histological methods. Three assays [complement fixation test (CFT), indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)] were used for serological evaluation. Additionally, uterine and ovarian samples collected from the breeding queen 11 weeks post-parturition were assessed by routine and specialised histological methods and polymerase chain reaction. The breeding queen showed strong seropositivity using CFT (titre 1/32), IFA (titre phase I 1/8192 and phase II 1/8192) and ELISA; however, the reproductive tract showed no evidence of pathology or C burnetii infection. A number of cattery-confined cats were identified as seropositive to phase II and/or phase I C burnetii. Serological detection of C burnetii in a breeding cattery linked to a Q fever outbreak indicates likely infection by this bacterium in Australian feline populations, re-confirming the relevance of this zoonosis.
authors: Faculty of Veterinary Science, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
authors: Lucy
authors: L
authors: Kopecny
authors: Katrina L
authors: KL
authors: Bosward
authors: Amanda
authors: A
authors: Shapiro
authors: Jacqueline M
authors: JM
authors: Norris
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D002371:Cat Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000401:mortality; D002415:Cats; D016997:Coxiella burnetii / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000662:veterinary*; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D011778:Q Fever / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000401:mortality / Q000662:veterinary*; D012698:Serologic Tests
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents
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