Q Fever Dairy Herd Status Determination Based on Serological and Molecular Analysis of Bulk Tank Milk

Ruminants are recognized as the main reservoirs of Coxiella burnetii. EFSA highlighted the lack of knowledge about Q fever prevalence in many European countries. A cross-sectional study was carried out in randomly selected dairy herds (n = 109) from central Portugal to screen for C. burnetii infection and to correlate it with herd factors. Bulk tank milk (BTM) samples from cattle (n = 45) and small ruminant (n = 64) herds were tested by ELISA and PCR. The apparent seroprevalence of Q fever was estimated in 45.9% (95% CI: 36.3-55.7) being higher in small ruminants (51.6; 95% CI: 39.6-63.4) than in cattle (37.8; 95% CI: 25.1-52.4). The shedding of C. burnetii in BTM was detected in 11.9% (95% CI: 7.1-19.4) of BTM, and it was higher in cattle (20%; 95% CI: 10.9-33.8) than in sheep and mixed herds (6.3%; 95% CI: 2.5-15). A high bacterial load (= 3 9 10 3 bacteria/ml) was observed in 85% of PCR-positive BTM. A significant correlation was found between the bacterial load and positive samples on ELISA (P < 0.001). Antibody positivity was significantly associated with the increased herd size (P < 0.01) and the occurrence of abortion (P < 0.05), whereas the shedding of C. burnetii was significantly associated with the report of infertility (P < 0.05). The results highlight that serological and molecular methods in combination are a useful tool to screen for Q fever and to clarify the herd infection status. The shedding of C. burnetii through milk is important, especially in dairy cattle, and thus, the role of milk as a potential source of infection among dairy workers should not be neglected. To our knowledge, this is the first study reporting C. burnetii infection in dairy livestock in Portugal showing that Q fever is significant in dairy herds, leading to economic losses and being a risk for public health, which highlights the need of implementation of control measures.