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Prevalence of Coxiella burnetii Antibodies in Dairy Cattle Associated with Abortions and Reproductive Disorders

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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, India Section B: Biological Sciences Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In this study, the investigation on the prevalence of Coxiella burnetii antibodies in cattle dairy farms (n = 44) associated with a history of abortions /and reproductive disorders located in various geographical areas in different states of India was carried out. A total of 323 serum samples (n = 323) collected from apparently healthy cattle associated with a history of abortions, infertility, repeat breeding, anoestrus, endometritis, etc., were screened for anti-C. burnetii antibodies by employing PrioCHECK™ Ruminant Q Fever AB Plate ELISA Kit. The overall seropositivity of 44.0% (142/323, 95% confident interval: 39–49%) was observed in cattle with the presence of antibodies associated with abortions and other reproductive disorders (χ2 = 18.75, p < 0.01). Further, the seropositivity of the dairy farms [84.1% (37/44)] implies at least one or two animals in each farm was found to be positive for C. burnetii antibodies. Moreover, on screening of the serum samples from seronegative and seropositive dairy farms, by Trans PCR, 84 out of 107 samples were found positive for C. burnetii genomic DNA, which indicated the ongoing active infection in all the studied farms. This study revealed that C. burnetii infection was prevalent in dairy cattle associated with abortions, infertility, and other reproductive problems and it implies the cattle have a role as a reservoir and may act as a potential zoonotic source to farm associated risk-groups personnel namely farmers, animal handlers, veterinarians, etc., that necessitates the adoption of appropriate mitigating strategies to reduce the incidence of Q fever in cattle dairy farms.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi, India, for providing facilities and financial support of the Project (OXX02232) to carry out the research work and the ICAR-NIVEDI for constant support and encouragement always. The first author would like to thank and acknowledge Dr. Sandeep Chaudhary, Professor, and Head, Department of Public Health and Epidemiology, Nagpur Veterinary College, MAFSU, Maharashtra, India for his kind gift of a recombinant positive clone. The authors also thank the ICAR-NIVEDI staff for their continuous support and timely help to execute the research work.

Funding

This work was carried out with funding support from the ICAR-Network project on Outreach Programme on Zoonotic Diseases (OPZD) (F. No. 14 (1) / 2009-ASR IV and AS/1(1)/2017-ASR IV), ICAR, DARE, MoAFW, GOI.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Indian Council of Agricultural Research-National Institute of Veterinary Epidemiology and Disease Informatics (ICAR-NIVEDI), Post Box No. 6450, Yelahanka, Bengaluru, Karnataka, 560 064, India

    V. Balamurugan, Anusha Alamuri, K. Vinod Kumar, G. Govindaraj & Parimal Roy

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  1. V. Balamurugan
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  2. Anusha Alamuri
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  3. K. Vinod Kumar
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  4. G. Govindaraj
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  5. Parimal Roy
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Correspondence to V. Balamurugan.

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Statement of Animal Rights

The manuscript does not contain animal experimental trial. No ethical clearance is required for collecting small volumes of blood samples required for seroepidemiological studies, as per CPCSEA (Committee for the Purpose of Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals) guidelines. Moreover, samples were collected by well-trained veterinarians concerning animal welfare regulations for the diagnosis of disease.

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Significance Statement

Active C. burnetii infection was recorded in both seronegative and seropositive cattle dairy farms. There is evidence for cattle as a reservoir host and may act as a potential zoonotic source.

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Balamurugan, V., Alamuri, A., Kumar, K.V. et al. Prevalence of Coxiella burnetii Antibodies in Dairy Cattle Associated with Abortions and Reproductive Disorders. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., India, Sect. B Biol. Sci. 91, 353–359 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40011-021-01226-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40011-021-01226-1

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