Thibon M, Villiers V, Souque P, Dautry-Varsat A, Duquesnel R, Ojcius D M
Laboratoire des Rickettsiales et Chlamydiales, URA CNRS 1960, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France.
Eur J Epidemiol. 1996 Oct;12(5):509-13. doi: 10.1007/BF00144005.
Since Coxiella burnetii, the causative agent of Q fever, is often transmitted from goats and sheep to humans through aerosols, we examined the sera from 168 persons involved in goat breeding in the Centre region of France and 40 members of veterinary and medical staff from the same region for the presence of antibodies against C. burnetii. An immunofluorescence assay was used to detect the presence of antibodies of the IgG isotope against epitopes from phase II of C. burnetii, which are the first antibodies to appear in infected people, and from phase I, which reflect more chronic stages of the infection. Our serological survey showed that most of the tested sera were positive for C. burnetii markers, indicating at least an encounter with the bacterium. In the overall population of 208 subjects, 71% of the sera had antibodies against phase II epitopes (titres > or = 1:40). Among the goat farmers and their immediate families, 78% had antibodies against phase II and 33% against phase I (titres > or = 1:40). Considering only high titres (> or = 1:320), though, only 37% of the farmers had antibodies against phase II and 15% against phase I. Only 3 out of 12 veterinarians working in the field had high titres of antibodies against phase II and phase I, while none of 28 members of veterinary and medical laboratories had significant levels of antibodies. These results emphasize the need for closer surveillance of populations at risk for Q fever, to prevent the infection by C. burnetii from reaching chronic stages of the disease.
由于Q热的病原体伯氏考克斯体常通过气溶胶从山羊和绵羊传播给人类，我们检测了法国中部地区168名从事山羊养殖的人员以及来自同一地区的40名兽医和医护人员的血清，以检测是否存在抗伯氏考克斯体的抗体。采用免疫荧光测定法检测针对伯氏考克斯体II期表位的IgG同位素抗体的存在情况，II期表位抗体是感染人群中最早出现的抗体，同时检测针对I期表位的抗体，其反映感染的更慢性阶段。我们的血清学调查显示，大多数检测血清的伯氏考克斯体标志物呈阳性，表明至少曾接触过该细菌。在208名受试者的总体人群中，71%的血清具有针对II期表位的抗体（滴度≥1:40）。在山羊养殖户及其直系亲属中，78%的人具有针对II期表位的抗体，33%的人具有针对I期表位的抗体（滴度≥1:40）。然而，仅考虑高滴度（≥1:320）时，只有37%的养殖户具有针对II期表位的抗体，15%的人具有针对I期表位的抗体。在12名从事现场工作的兽医中，只有3人具有针对II期和I期表位的高滴度抗体，而在28名兽医和医学实验室成员中，没有人具有显著水平的抗体。这些结果强调了对Q热高危人群进行更密切监测的必要性，以防止伯氏考克斯体感染发展到疾病的慢性阶段。
