Molecular epidemiology of Coxiella burnetii from ruminants in Q fever outbreak, the Netherlands

Emerg Infect Dis. 2011 Apr;17(4):668-75. doi: 10.3201/eid1704.101562.

Abstract

Q fever is a zoonosis caused by the bacterium Coxiella burnetii. One of the largest reported outbreaks of Q fever in humans occurred in the Netherlands starting in 2007; epidemiologic investigations identified small ruminants as the source. To determine the genetic background of C. burnetii in domestic ruminants responsible for the human Q fever outbreak, we genotyped 126 C. burnetii-positive samples from ruminants by using a 10-loci multilocus variable-number tandem-repeat analyses panel and compared them with internationally known genotypes. One unique genotype predominated in dairy goat herds and 1 sheep herd in the human Q fever outbreak area in the south of the Netherlands. On the basis of 4 loci, this genotype is similar to a human genotype from the Netherlands. This finding strengthens the probability that this genotype of C. burnetii is responsible for the human Q fever epidemic in the Netherlands.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Bacterial Typing Techniques
  • Coxiella burnetii / genetics
  • Coxiella burnetii / physiology*
  • Disease Outbreaks*
  • Genotype
  • Goat Diseases / epidemiology*
  • Goats
  • Humans
  • Molecular Epidemiology*
  • Multilocus Sequence Typing
  • Netherlands / epidemiology
  • Phylogeny
  • Q Fever / epidemiology
  • Q Fever / veterinary*
  • Ruminants / microbiology*
  • Sheep
  • Sheep Diseases / epidemiology*