Duch André Almeida Santos, Conceição Vitória Barbosa, Fernandes Jorlan, da Silva Forneas Danielle, de Souza Freitas Dominique Elvira, Frank Henrique Oliveira, Oliveira Jonathan Gonçalves, de Carvalho Castro Karina Neoob, de Paula Souza E Guimarães Ricardo José, Meurer Igor Rosa, do Amaral Corrêa José Otávio, Ribeiro João Batista, Menezes Liliane Denize Miranda, Almeida Paula Aparecida Azevedo, Rozental Tatiana, Silva Marcio Roberto, de Lemos Elba Regina Sampaio
Minas Gerais Agriculture and Livestock Institute, 31630-901 Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil; Oswaldo Cruz Institute, 21040-360 Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Federal University of Juiz de Fora, 36036-900 Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Int J Food Microbiol. 2025 Nov 2;442:111386. doi: 10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2025.111386. Epub 2025 Aug 8.
Q fever is a zoonotic disease that occurs worldwide; it is caused by Coxiella burnetii, which infects a wide variety of vertebrate and invertebrate animals, including humans. Domestic ruminants are considered the primary natural reservoir of C. burnetii. Human infection occurs mainly via aerogenic routes, with the ingestion of raw milk being a less common but non-negligible pathway. The aim of this study was to conduct a randomized survey to evaluate the frequency of C. burnetii-positive raw milk artisanal cheese (RMAC) in five traditional Brazilian regions. Additionally, we analyzed the relationships between spatial clusters of C. burnetii-positive RMAC and those of human exposure, livestock concentration, and other RMAC characteristics such as ripening time and microbiological attributes. From October 2017 to April 2018, we collected 100 RMAC samples from different rural family-based cheese-processing agroindustries in four regions of the state of Minas Gerais and one in the state of Piauí. DNA was extracted from RMAC, and PCR was performed using specific oligonucleotides targeting the IS1111 gene. We assessed possible associations between descriptive variables and C. burnetii-positive RMAC, and conducted spatial analyses of rural family-based cheese-processing agroindustries with positive RMAC, human exposure data, and livestock concentration. C. burnetii DNA was detected and sequenced in 25 RMAC samples (25.0 %; 95 % CI: 16.8-34.6 %) from two types of ready-to-eat Brazilian RMAC. The rates of C. burnetii-positive RMAC across the five regions analyzed were heterogeneous (P = 0.04). These rates exhibited a direct linear relationship with ripening periods above the median duration (i.e., 10 days), and an inverse relationship with the time since recognition as traditional cheese-producing regions by the state's official surveillance body. These findings emphasize the need for Good Agricultural and Manufacturing Practices, as well as quality control of RMAC. Finally, we identified potential links between a high-density cluster of human exposure to C. burnetii and clusters of both C. burnetii-positive RMAC and high livestock concentrations, supporting the need for monitoring temporal and spatial trends, conducting risk analyses and genotyping studies, in order to establish control measures with One Health approaches.
Q热是一种在全球范围内发生的人畜共患病；它由伯氏考克斯体引起，该病原体可感染包括人类在内的多种脊椎动物和无脊椎动物。家养反刍动物被认为是伯氏考克斯体的主要自然宿主。人类感染主要通过空气传播途径发生，摄入生牛奶是一种不太常见但不可忽视的途径。本研究的目的是进行一项随机调查，以评估巴西五个传统地区伯氏考克斯体阳性的手工制作生牛奶奶酪（RMAC）的频率。此外，我们分析了伯氏考克斯体阳性RMAC的空间聚集与人类暴露、牲畜集中程度以及其他RMAC特征（如成熟时间和微生物属性）之间的关系。2017年10月至2018年4月，我们从米纳斯吉拉斯州四个地区和皮奥伊州一个地区的不同农村家庭式奶酪加工农业企业收集了100份RMAC样本。从RMAC中提取DNA，并使用靶向IS1111基因的特异性寡核苷酸进行PCR。我们评估了描述性变量与伯氏考克斯体阳性RMAC之间的可能关联，并对伯氏考克斯体阳性RMAC、人类暴露数据和牲畜集中程度的农村家庭式奶酪加工农业企业进行了空间分析。在来自两种巴西即食RMAC的25份RMAC样本（25.0%；95%置信区间：16.8 - 34.6%）中检测到并测序了伯氏考克斯体DNA。在所分析的五个地区中，伯氏考克斯体阳性RMAC的发生率存在异质性（P = 0.04）。这些发生率与高于中位数持续时间（即10天）的成熟时间呈直接线性关系，与该州官方监管机构认定为传统奶酪生产地区后的时间呈反比关系。这些发现强调了良好农业和生产规范以及RMAC质量控制的必要性。最后，我们确定了人类暴露于伯氏考克斯体的高密度聚集区与伯氏考克斯体阳性RMAC聚集区和高牲畜集中程度之间的潜在联系，支持了监测时间和空间趋势、进行风险分析和基因分型研究以采用“同一健康”方法建立控制措施的必要性。
