Seroepidemiology of Coxiella Burnetii in Commercial Dairy Herds in Northeast of Iran

Q fever is an important zoonotic disease caused by infection with Coxiella burnetii. Limited information is available concerning theseroprevalence of Coxiella burnetii in Iran.A serological survey was conducted to describe the seroepidemiology of Coxiellaburnetii infection in dairy cattle in Khorasan Razavi province located in northeast of Iran. 246 dairy cattle from 19 commercial dairy herds that were distributed in 9 counties were selected. Blood samples were assayed for antibody to Coxiella burnetii using CHEKIT Q fever ELISA kit. Seroprevalence of Coxiella burnetii at animal and herd level was 22.3 (95% CI: 17.1-27.6) and 78.9 (95% CI: 60-97) percent, respectively. Coxiella burnetii was distributed all over the province. The proportion of seropositive animals ranged from 0 - 62.5%in the studied herds and it was different significantly in various regions (P=0.001).Parity and herd size were not associated with seroprevalence. High prevalence of antibody against Coxiella burnetii in the cattle population of the study area implies zoonotic and economic importance. More investigations on the other reservoirs and human (especially at risk population) is necessary to make epidemiologic feature of Coxiellosis clear.