Association between Coxiella burnetii seropositivity and abortion in dairy cattle of Northern Italy

Coxiella burnetii, the agent of Q fever in humans, has been associated with abortion in cattle. In this study 650 sera from cattle with abortion and 600 randomly-selected control sera were examined for antibodies to C. burnetii by ELISA. Two hundred and ninety-two (44.9%) out of 650 animals which ex...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The New microbiologica 2006-07, Vol.29 (3), p.211-214
Main Authors: Cabassi, Clotilde S, Taddei, Simone, Donofrio, Gaetano, Ghidini, Francesca, Piancastelli, Chiara, Flammini, Cesidio F, Cavirani, Sandro
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abortion, Veterinary - epidemiology
Abortion, Veterinary - microbiology
Animals
Antibodies, Bacterial - blood
Cattle
Cattle Diseases - epidemiology
Cattle Diseases - microbiology
Coxiella burnetii
Coxiella burnetii - immunology
Coxiella burnetii - isolation & purification
Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
Female
Italy - epidemiology
Pregnancy
Seroepidemiologic Studies
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Summary:Coxiella burnetii, the agent of Q fever in humans, has been associated with abortion in cattle. In this study 650 sera from cattle with abortion and 600 randomly-selected control sera were examined for antibodies to C. burnetii by ELISA. Two hundred and ninety-two (44.9%) out of 650 animals which experienced abortion were seropositive versus 132 (22%) out of 600 of the control group. A statistically significant difference resulted from the comparison of the seroprevalence of aborted cattle with that of controls (p < 0.001). Moreover, a significant higher prevalence was disclosed in cattle which aborted during late gestation (p < 0.002) and in the autumn (p < 0.001).
ISSN:1121-7138