J Korean Med Sci.  2006 Oct;21(5):823-826. 10.3346/jkms.2006.21.5.823.

Seroprevalence of Coxiella burnetii Infection in Dairy Cattle and Non-symptomatic People for Routine Health Screening in Korea

• Kim WJ
• Hahn TW
• Kim DY
• Lee MG
• Jung KS
• Ogawa M
• Kishimoto
• Lee ME
• Lee SJ

• KMID: 1781899
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2006.21.5.823

Abstract

We report results on the seroprevalence of antibodies to Coxiella burnetii in cattle and healthy people in Korea. Upon agreement with dairy owners, serum samples from 414 dairy cattle were collected between March and June 2001 and samples from 205 people for health screening were collected between April and December 2002. The sera were analyzed for the presence of anti-C. burnetii phase II antibodies using an indirect microimmunofluorescence test; strong fluorescence at a 1:32 dilution was regarded as positive. The overall seroprevalence of C. burnetii in cattle in Korea was 25.6%, with regional variation from 8.9 to 59.3%. Of the positive serum samples, 75.5% had antibody titers > or =1:256. By contrast, only 1.5% of people in a rural area were seropositive, and most of the positive samples had low antibody titers. In conclusion, this study showed that relatively high seropositivity of C. burnetii in dairy cattle, accordingly, the studies on the high-risk groups are needed to evaluate the seroprevalence for this organism in Korea.

Keyword

Coxiella burnetii; Seroepidemiological Studies; Seroprevalence; Korea; Q Fever

MeSH Terms

Seroepidemiologic Studies
Retrospective Studies
Q Fever/*epidemiology/veterinary
Middle Aged
Male
Humans
Female
Coxiella burnetii/*immunology
Cattle Diseases/*epidemiology
Cattle
Antibodies, Bacterial/*blood
Animals
Aged, 80 and over
Aged
Adult

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