Seroprevalence and Risk Factors for Q Fever (Coxiella burnetii) Exposure in Smallholder Dairy Cattle in Tanzania

Shedrack Festo Bwatota, Gabriel Mkilema Shirima, Luis Hernandez Castro, Mark Bronsvoort, Nick Wheelhouse, Isaac Joseph Mengele , Shabani Kiyabo Motto, Daniel Mushumbusi Komwihangilo , Eliamoni Lyatuu , Elizabeth Anne Jessie Cook

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract / Description of output

Q fever is a zoonotic disease, resulting from infection with Coxiella burnetii. Infection in cattle can cause abortion and infertility, however, there is little epidemiological information regarding the disease in dairy cattle in Tanzania. Between July 2019 and October 2020, a serosurvey was con-ducted in six high dairy producing regions of Tanzania. Cattle sera were tested for antibodies to C. burnetii using an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. A mixed effect logistic regression model identified risk factors associated with C. burnetii seropositivity. A total of 79 out of 2049 dairy cattle tested positive with an overall seroprevalence of 3.9% (95% CI 3.06–4.78) across the six regions with the highest seroprevalence in Tanga region (8.21%, 95% CI 6.0–10.89). Risk factors associated with seropositivity included: extensive feeding management (OR 2.77, 95% CI 1.25–3.77), and low precipitation below 1000 mm (OR 2.76, 95% 1.37–7.21). The disease seroprevalence is relatively low in the high dairy cattle producing regions of Tanzania. Due to the zoonotic po-tential of the disease, future efforts should employ a “One Health” approach to understand the epidemi-ology, and for interdisciplinary control to reduce the impacts on animal and human health.
Original languageEnglish
Article number662
Pages (from-to)1-17
Number of pages17
JournalVeterinary Sciences
Volume9
Issue number12
Early online date28 Nov 2022
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 28 Nov 2022

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

  • Q fever
  • coxiellosis
  • Coxiella burnetii
  • seroprevalence
  • dairy cattle
  • Tanzania

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