van den Brom René, Neale Susan, Jourdain Elsa, Matthijs Anneleen, Mori Marcella, Rousset Elodie, Mertens-Scholz Katja, McNeilly Tom N, Hurtado Ana
Small Ruminant Health Department, Royal GD, Deventer, 7400 AA, The Netherlands.
Penrith Veterinary Investigation Centre, Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), Cumbria, CA11 9RR, UK.
Open Res Eur. 2025 Jun 30;5:94. doi: 10.12688/openreseurope.19270.2. eCollection 2025.
Q fever is a widespread zoonotic disease caused by the bacterium, . In ruminants, can cause abortions, stillbirths, premature births, and weak offspring. As part of the EU-funded Q-Net-Assess International Coordination of Research on Infectious Animal Diseases (ICRAD)-project, aimed at generating the most comprehensive understanding of genetic variation to date and determining the implications of this genetic variation for zoonotic risk, pathogenicity and control of infection, we have reviewed the protocols reported by the different project partners and/or countries to diagnose abortion in domestic ruminants. As a result of this review, we have developed guidelines for the detection of abortifacient agents in domestic ruminants, with a special focus on . They include a description of the essential and complementary samples needed for a definitive diagnosis, the analytical techniques to be used, and the interpretation and validity of each type of sample and technique. The most comprehensive diagnostic approach to identify an infectious agent as the cause of abortion in ruminants would include histopathology, including immunohistochemistry (IHC), on the fetus and placental membranes, complemented by bacteriology, serology, and real-time PCR analyses of different types of samples. For the specific diagnosis of as the causative agent of abortion, we provide guidelines based on expert opinions for the interpretation of laboratory test results in relation to their diagnostic value.
Q热是一种由细菌引起的广泛传播的人畜共患病。在反刍动物中，该细菌可导致流产、死产、早产和弱仔。作为欧盟资助的Q-Net-Assess国际动物传染病研究协调（ICRAD）项目的一部分，该项目旨在对该细菌的遗传变异形成迄今为止最全面的认识，并确定这种遗传变异对人畜共患病风险、致病性和感染控制的影响，我们审查了不同项目合作伙伴和/或国家报告的用于诊断家养反刍动物流产的方案。通过这次审查，我们制定了在家养反刍动物中检测流产病原体的指南，特别关注该细菌。这些指南包括明确诊断所需的必需样本和补充样本的描述、要使用的分析技术，以及每种样本和技术的解释及有效性。确定一种感染因子是反刍动物流产原因的最全面诊断方法将包括对胎儿和胎膜进行组织病理学检查，包括免疫组织化学（IHC），并辅以细菌学、血清学以及对不同类型样本的实时PCR分析。对于将该细菌作为流产病原体的特异性诊断，我们根据专家意见提供了关于实验室检测结果诊断价值解释的指南。
