An assay to determine the Seasonal Prevalence of Coxiella burnetii in Cow Milk Using Nested PCR

Subject Areas : Molecular Microbiology

Ebrahim  Rahimi ¹ (Department of Food Hygiene, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Islamic Azad University, Shahrekord Branch, Shahrekord, Iran)
Zeinab  Torki Baghbadorani ² (Islamic Azad University, Shahrekord Branch, Shahrekord, Iran)
Abbas  Doosti ³ (Biotechnology Research Center, Islamic Azad University, Shahrekord Branch, Shahrekord, Iran)

Received: 2010-03-16 Accepted : 2010-04-14 Published : 2010-04-01

Keywords: PCR, Coxiella burnetii, cow milk,

Abstract :

Background and Objective: Q-fever is a zoonosis caused by an intracellular rickettsia, Coxiella burnetii, with worldwide distribution. This study was conducted to determine the seasonal prevalence rate of Coxiella burentii in raw milk samples obtained from different Cowpens in Isfahan. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed from January 2009 to January 2010. Totally, 247 milk samples from 90 Cowpens were collected and were tested for C. burnetii using nested PCR assay. Results: In this survey, 8 out of 247 (3.2%) cow milk samples were positive for C. burnetii. The prevalence of C. burnetii varied during different seasons. The highest incidence of C. burnetii observed in winter (8.5%). All 65 milk samples collected in summer were negative for C. burnetii. Conclusion: These results prove that cow milk could be considered as an important reservoir for C. burnetii infection in Iran.

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