Molecular detection of Coxiella burnetti infection in aborted samples of
livestock in Iran
Abstract
Coxiella burnetii is a causative agent of Q fever which is highly
infectious zoonotic disease. C. burnetii has become one of the most
important causes of abortion in livestock, which can lead to widespread
abortions in these animals. There are very limited studies on the
prevalence of C. burnetii infection in cases of animal abortion in Iran.
The aim of this study was to investigate C. burnetii in livestock
abortion samples in Iran. Abortion samples from cattle, sheep and goat
were collected from different parts of Iran and were tested using
Real-time PCR targeting IS1111 gene of C. burnetii. In this study, 36
samples (24.66%) of the 146 collected samples were positive for C.
burnetii. The prevalence of C. burnetii was 21.78% (20 of 94 samples)
in sheep samples. Also, 10 of 46 cattle samples (21.74%) were positive.
All six goat abortion samples were positive for C. burnetii. The
findings of the study demonstrate that C. burnetii have important role
in livestock abortions in Iran and more attention should be paid to Q
fever by the health care system and veterinary organization.