Netherlands Centre for Infectious Disease Control, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), P.O. Box 1, 3720 BA Bilthoven, The Netherlands.
Prev Vet Med. 2011 Aug 1;101(1-2):124-30. doi: 10.1016/j.prevetmed.2011.05.003. Epub 2011 Jun 2.
The Q fever outbreak in the Netherlands in 2007-2010 prompted government interventions to reduce the human incidence by reduction of Q fever shedding at dairy goat farms. Mandatory hygiene measures were taken, including the control of animal reservoirs. It has been postulated that brown rats, through their commensal nature, form an important factor in the persistent dissemination of endemic circulating Coxiella burnetii in nature to domestic animals, livestock and humans. Here, the occurrence of C. burnetii in rats captured at different types of location during the Q fever outbreak in the Netherlands, viz. urban areas, nature areas and various types of farm has been determined. This is a first step towards the elucidation of the reservoir status of rats in veterinary and human Q fever epidemiology. C. burnetii DNA was detected in the spleen of 4.9% of the brown rats (Rattus norvegicus) and 3.0% of the black rats (Rattus rattus). Evidence for C. burnetii infection was also found in liver, kidney, lung and intestinal tissue but not in heart, brain and pancreas. C. burnetii IgGs were detected in 15.8% of the brown rats. Positive rats were collected at goat, pig, cattle and poultry farms, and urban locations; including locations outside the designated 5km "increased-risk" zones around bulk milk positive goat farms. The percentage of rat-positive locations was the highest for goat farms (50%) and cattle farms (14.3%). The presence of actively infected rats outside the lambing season and at multiple environmental settings including urban locations might suggest that rats are not merely a spill-over host due to infection by a contaminated environment but might represent true reservoirs, capable of independent maintenance of C. burnetii infection cycles and thereby contributing to spread and transmission of the pathogen. If frequent (re)introduction of C. burnetii to small ruminant farms can be caused by rats as maintenance reservoirs, mandatory wildlife control and lifelong vaccination of herds will be necessary.
2007 年至 2010 年，荷兰爆发 Q 热疫情，促使政府采取干预措施，减少奶牛场山羊 Q 热病毒的传播，从而降低人类感染率。采取了强制性卫生措施，包括控制动物病源。有人假设，棕鼠通过共生特性，成为在自然界中持续传播地方性流行的柯克斯体细菌，使其在动物、家畜和人类中传播的一个重要因素。在这里，在荷兰 Q 热疫情期间，在不同类型的地点捕获的老鼠（城市地区、自然地区和各种类型的农场）中，确定了柯克斯体细菌的发生情况。这是阐明老鼠在兽医和人类 Q 热流行病学中的储存状态的第一步。在 4.9%的棕鼠（挪威鼠）和 3.0%的黑鼠（褐家鼠）的脾脏中检测到柯克斯体细菌 DNA。在肝脏、肾脏、肺和肠道组织中也发现了柯克斯体细菌感染的证据，但在心脏、大脑和胰腺中没有发现。在 15.8%的棕鼠中检测到柯克斯体细菌 IgGs。阳性老鼠是在山羊、猪、牛和家禽养殖场以及城市地区收集到的，包括在指定的 5 公里“高风险”区域之外的山羊农场周围的阳性牛奶农场。阳性老鼠的比例在山羊养殖场（50%）和牛养殖场（14.3%）最高。在非产羔季节和包括城市地区在内的多个环境中存在活跃感染的老鼠，这表明老鼠不仅仅是由于受污染的环境感染而成为溢出宿主，它们可能是真正的储存宿主，能够独立维持柯克斯体细菌的感染循环，从而有助于病原体的传播和传播。如果老鼠作为维持宿主频繁（重新）将柯克斯体细菌引入小反刍动物养殖场，那么有必要进行强制性的野生动物控制和对畜群进行终生疫苗接种。
