Melbourne Veterinary School, Faculty of Science, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
Department of Microbiology, Anatomy, Physiology and Pharmacology, School of Agriculture, Biomedicine and Environment, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Aust Vet J. 2023 Mar;101(3):106-114. doi: 10.1111/avj.13223. Epub 2022 Dec 21.
Coxiella burnetii causes significant reproduction losses in livestock and the disease Q fever in humans. Transmission of C. burnetii is facilitated by the stability of the bacterium in the environment and the susceptibility of a variety of host species to infection. Consequently, inter-species transmission occurs frequently through either direct or indirect contact. Wildlife may represent reservoirs of C. burnetii and could therefore be a source of infection for domestic animals. Understanding the prevalence of C. burnetii infections at the wildlife-livestock interface is important for disease control. This study aimed to investigate the extent of C. burnetii exposure in wild deer in eastern Australia. Serum samples were obtained from 413 wild deer from seven regions in four eastern Australian states from 2017 to 2020. Antibodies were detected using a commercial Q fever antibody kit validated for ruminants. Seroprevalence of C. burnetii antibodies in deer was determined and true prevalence estimated, for each region. The overall seroprevalence of C. burnetii antibodies in wild deer was 3.4% (14 seropositive of 413 deer sampled) with true prevalence estimated to be 4.3% (95% credible interval: 0.6%, 10.9%). Seropositive deer were identified only in Queensland (7/108 seropositive) and northern New South Wales (7/120 seropositive). This geospatial distribution is consistent with seropositivity in other animal species and indicative of the level of C. burnetii in the environment. The low seroprevalence suggests that wild deer are unlikely to be a major reservoir species for C. burnetii in eastern Australia but may still be implicated in inter-species transmission cycles.
贝氏考克斯氏体引起家畜的重大繁殖损失和人类的 Q 热。该细菌在环境中的稳定性和多种宿主物种对感染的易感性促进了考克斯氏体的传播。因此，通过直接或间接接触，种间传播经常发生。野生动物可能是考克斯氏体的储存库，因此可能是家畜感染的来源。了解野生动物-家畜界面考克斯氏体感染的流行情况对疾病控制很重要。本研究旨在调查澳大利亚东部野生鹿中考克斯氏体暴露的程度。2017 年至 2020 年，从澳大利亚东部四个州的七个地区采集了 413 只野生鹿的血清样本。使用针对反刍动物验证的商业 Q 热抗体试剂盒检测抗体。确定了鹿中考克斯氏体抗体的血清流行率，并估计了每个地区的真实流行率。野生鹿中考克斯氏体抗体的总血清流行率为 3.4%（413 只采样鹿中 14 只血清阳性），真实流行率估计为 4.3%（95%可信区间：0.6%，10.9%）。仅在昆士兰州（7/108 血清阳性）和新南威尔士州北部（7/120 血清阳性）发现了血清阳性鹿。这种地理空间分布与其他动物物种的血清阳性一致，表明环境中的考克斯氏体水平。低血清流行率表明，野生鹿不太可能是澳大利亚东部考克斯氏体的主要储存物种，但仍可能参与种间传播循环。
