Ceglie Letizia, Guerrini Eulalia, Rampazzo Erika, Barberio Antonio, Tilburg Jeroen J H C, Hagen Ferry, Lucchese Laura, Zuliani Federica, Marangon Stefano, Natale Alda
Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, Viale dell'Università 10, 35020 Legnaro PD, Italy.
Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, Viale Fiume 78, 36100 Vicenza, Italy.
Microbes Infect. 2015 Nov-Dec;17(11-12):776-81. doi: 10.1016/j.micinf.2015.09.029. Epub 2015 Oct 23.
Q fever is a worldwide zoonotic disease caused by Coxiella burnetii (C. burnetii), an obligate intracellular bacterium. In ruminants, shedding into the environment mainly occurs during parturition or abortion, but the bacterium is shed also in milk, vaginal mucus, stools and urine. In Italy few surveys have been conducted and reported seroprevalence values ranged between 10% and 60%, even if few human cases have been described. Genotyping of bacteria is crucial for enhancing diagnostic methods and for epidemiological surveillance. The objective of this study was to investigate genotypic differences of C. burnetii genotypes directly in 34 samples, collected during a 3-years survey among 11 dairy cattle and 11 goat farms in the north-eastern part of Italy using a 6-locus multiple loci variable number of tandem repeat analysis (MLVA) method. The samples analysed included 13 bulk tank milk (BTM), 6 individual milk, 11 vaginal swabs and 4 foetal spleens. MLVA-type 2 was determined as the most prevalent in cattle in this study. C. burnetii strains circulating in the studied cattle population are very similar to genotypes previously described, while genotypes from goats showed an important variability. Further investigation are needed to understand the reason of this pattern.
Q热是一种由专性细胞内细菌伯氏考克斯体（C. burnetii）引起的全球性人畜共患病。在反刍动物中，细菌主要在分娩或流产期间排放到环境中，但也会在乳汁、阴道黏液、粪便和尿液中排出。在意大利，相关调查较少，即便报告的血清阳性率在10%至60%之间，不过描述的人类病例较少。细菌基因分型对于改进诊断方法和进行流行病学监测至关重要。本研究的目的是使用6位点多位点可变数目串联重复序列分析（MLVA）方法，直接调查在意大利东北部11个奶牛场和11个山羊场进行的为期3年的调查期间收集的34个样本中伯氏考克斯体基因型的差异。分析的样本包括13份混合奶罐奶（BTM）、6份个体奶样、11份阴道拭子和4份胎儿脾脏样本。在本研究中，MLVA-2型被确定为牛群中最常见的类型。在所研究的牛群中传播的伯氏考克斯体菌株与先前描述的基因型非常相似，而山羊的基因型则表现出重要的变异性。需要进一步调查以了解这种模式的原因。
