Clinical Coxiella burnetii infection in sable and roan antelope in South Africa

Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Research

 
 
Field Value
 
Title Clinical Coxiella burnetii infection in sable and roan antelope in South Africa
 
Creator Wiedeman, Wikus Glover, Akorfa B. Steyl, Johan O'Dell, Jacques van Heerden, Henriette
 
Subject veterinary science Coxiella burnetii; sable; roan; abortion; South Africa
Description Various zoonotic microorganisms cause reproductive problems such as abortions and stillbirths, leading to economic losses on farms, particularly within livestock. In South Africa, bovine brucellosis is endemic in cattle, and from 2013–2018, outbreaks of Brucella melitensis occurred in sable. Coxiella burnetii, the agent responsible for the zoonotic disease known as Q-fever and/or coxiellosis, also causes reproductive problems and infects multiple domestic animal species worldwide, including humans. However, little is known of this disease in wildlife. With the expansion of the wildlife industry in South Africa, diseases like brucellosis and coxiellosis can significantly impact herd breeding success because of challenges in identifying, managing and treating diseases in wildlife populations. This study investigated samples obtained from aborted sable and roan antelope, initially suspected to be brucellosis, from game farms in South Africa using serology tests and ruminant VetMAX™ polymerase chain reaction (PCR) abortion kit. The presence of C. burnetii was confirmed with PCR in a sable abortion case, while samples from both sable and roan were seropositive for C. burnetii indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (iELISA). This study represents the initial report of C. burnetii infection in sable and roan antelope in South Africa. Epidemiological investigations are crucial to assess the risk of C. burnetii in sable and roan populations, as well as wildlife and livestock in general, across South Africa. This is important in intensive farming practices, particularly as Q-fever, being a zoonotic disease, poses a particular threat to the health of veterinarians and farm workers as well as domestic animals.Contribution: A report of clinical C. burnetii infection in the wildlife industry contributes towards the limited knowledge of this zoonotic disease in South Africa.
 
Publisher AOSIS
 
Contributor
Date 2024-07-26
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion — —
Format text/html application/epub+zip text/xml application/pdf
Identifier 10.4102/ojvr.v91i1.2151
 
Source Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Research; Vol 91, No 1 (2024); 6 pages 2219-0635 0030-2465
 
Language eng
 
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The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:

https://ojvr.org/index.php/ojvr/article/view/2151/2601 https://ojvr.org/index.php/ojvr/article/view/2151/2602 https://ojvr.org/index.php/ojvr/article/view/2151/2603 https://ojvr.org/index.php/ojvr/article/view/2151/2604
 
Coverage South Africa — —
Rights Copyright (c) 2024 Wikus Wiedeman, Akorfa B. Glover, Johan Steyl, Jacques O’Dell, Henriette van Heerden https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
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