Veterinary Public Health Institute, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
Institute of Veterinary Bacteriology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Transbound Emerg Dis. 2017 Feb;64(1):204-212. doi: 10.1111/tbed.12362. Epub 2015 Apr 29.
The recent Q fever epidemic in the Netherlands raised concerns about the potential risk of outbreaks in other European countries. In Switzerland, the prevalence of Q fever in animals and humans has not been studied in recent years. In this study, we describe the current situation with respect to Coxiella (C.) burnetii infections in small ruminants and humans in Switzerland, as a basis for future epidemiological investigations and public health risk assessments. Specific objectives of this cross-sectional study were to (i) estimate the seroprevalence of C. burnetii in sheep and goats, (ii) quantify the amount of bacteria shed during abortion and (iii) analyse temporal trends in human C. burnetii infections. The seroprevalence of C. burnetii in small ruminants was determined by commercial ELISA from a representative sample of 100 sheep flocks and 72 goat herds. Herd-level seroprevalence was 5.0% (95% CI: 1.6-11.3) for sheep and 11.1% (95% CI: 4.9-20.7) for goats. Animal-level seroprevalence was 1.8% (95% CI: 0.8-3.4) for sheep and 3.4% (95% CI: 1.7-6) for goats. The quantification of C. burnetii in 97 ovine and caprine abortion samples by real-time PCR indicated shedding of >10 bacteria/g in 13.4% of all samples tested. To our knowledge, this is the first study reporting C. burnetii quantities in a large number of small ruminant abortion samples. Annual human Q fever serology data were provided by five major Swiss laboratories. Overall, seroprevalence in humans ranged between 1.7% and 3.5% from 2007 to 2011, and no temporal trends were observed. Interestingly, the two laboratories with significantly higher seroprevalences are located in the regions with the largest goat populations as well as, for one laboratory, with the highest livestock density in Switzerland. However, a direct link between animal and human infection data could not be established in this study.
最近荷兰爆发的 Q 热疫情引起了人们对其他欧洲国家爆发疫情的潜在担忧。在瑞士，近年来并未对动物和人类中的 Q 热流行情况进行研究。在这项研究中，我们描述了瑞士小反刍动物和人类中柯克斯体（Coxiella）（C.）伯内特氏菌感染的现状，为未来的流行病学调查和公共卫生风险评估提供了基础。这项横断面研究的具体目标是：（i）估计绵羊和山羊中 C. 伯内特氏菌的血清流行率，（ii）定量流产时细菌的排出量，以及（iii）分析人类中 C. 伯内特氏菌感染的时间趋势。通过对 100 个绵羊群和 72 个山羊群的代表性样本进行商业 ELISA 检测，确定小反刍动物中 C. 伯内特氏菌的血清流行率。绵羊的群体血清流行率为 5.0%（95%CI：1.6-11.3），山羊为 11.1%（95%CI：4.9-20.7）。动物水平的血清流行率为绵羊 1.8%（95%CI：0.8-3.4），山羊 3.4%（95%CI：1.7-6）。对 97 份绵羊和山羊流产样本进行实时 PCR 定量分析表明，在检测的所有样本中，有 13.4%的样本中细菌数量>10 个/g。据我们所知，这是首次在大量小反刍动物流产样本中报告 C. 伯内特氏菌数量的研究。来自瑞士五家主要实验室的年度人类 Q 热血清学数据。总体而言，2007 年至 2011 年期间，人类血清流行率在 1.7%至 3.5%之间，未观察到时间趋势。有趣的是，两个血清流行率显著较高的实验室都位于瑞士山羊种群最大的地区，其中一个实验室的牲畜密度也最高。然而，在这项研究中，无法确定动物和人类感染数据之间的直接联系。
