![]() ![]() Pinkish red coccobacillary usually intracellular bacteria on modified Ziehl-Neelsen, Giminez, and Giemsa stains. ![]() Placental membranes with at least 1–2 cotyledons, fetal tissues, and vaginal mucous Specific questions addressed in this statement include: These recommendations focus primarily on ruminants however, pertinent discussions are also included related to companion animals, horses, and wildlife. The objective of this consensus statement is to complement these documents and to provide more focused recommendations-based on the literature and expert opinion-regarding the clinical management of animals on premises with confirmed or suspected coxiellosis. There are several relevant publications available for human and veterinary health professionals, which provide guidance for livestock and public health concerns related to C. 16- 20 Although human infections are often asymptomatic or mild, debilitating complications can occur. Recently, outbreaks of abortion in sheep and goats with concurrent human illness have occured worldwide. Query fever and coxiellosis are considered to be re-emerging diseases in many countries. At the individual animal level, evidence of infection with the organism, with or without clinical disease would be considered coxiellosis however, the extent and duration of shedding is unpredictable in affected animals. While serologic testing cannot rule-out infection, in most cases it alone is not sufficient to document coxiellosis at the herd level, and additional testing focused on documenting the presence of the organism is warranted. burnetii or its DNA in biological samples obtained from livestock), which might or might not result in clinical disease and shedding in individual animals. In this document, we define coxiellosis-positive herds as those with evidence of infection (identification of C. 8- 13 Aerosols originating from infected farms can act as a source of infection for humans. ![]() 6 The organism replicates within the trophoblasts of the placenta and after the logarithmic growth phase, produces a spore-like bacterial form termed a small cell variant (SCV) 7 these SCVs are responsible for persistence of the organism in dust, manure, and the air of farms. burnetii however, the agent can be shed in large numbers during parturition in clinically unaffected animals. Placental membranes, fetuses, and uterine fluids from clinically affected animals can contain massive numbers of C. Coxiellosis is frequently subclinical, with clinical disease manifesting most commonly in small ruminants as late-term abortion, stillbirth, and birth of weak offspring and rarely as abortion or reproductive failure in cattle. Coxiellosis occurs in a variety of species, with domestic ruminants serving as the most important reservoir for human infection. 4, 5 Infections in animals are termed coxiellosis. 2, 3 Infections principally occur through inhalation or ingestion, although infection by blood transfusion occurs. 1 Subsequently, the causative agent was identified as Coxiella burnetii, a ubiquitous, small, pleomorphic, intracellular Gram-negative bacterium. Query fever, (Q fever) was first described as a febrile illness of abattoir workers in Australia in 1937. Emphasis is placed on biosecurity measures that can be considered for minimizing the zoonotic transmission risk in both field and veterinary facilities. A discussion of currently available testing options and their interpretation is provided, along with recommendations on management practices that can be implemented on-farm in the face of an outbreak to mitigate losses. burnetii infection in livestock populations. The purpose of this consensus statement is to provide veterinarians and public health officials with a summary of the available information regarding management of C. Available diagnostic tests have limited sensitivity, which combined with the absence of treatment options in animals and limited approaches to prevention, result in difficulty managing this agent for optimal animal health and zoonotic disease outcomes. The organism also represents an important zoonotic concern associated with its ability to aerosolize easily and its low infectious dose. Infections caused by Coxiella burnetii, commonly referred to as coxiellosis when occurring in animals and Query fever when occurring in humans, are an important cause of abortions, decreased reproductive efficiency, and subclinical infections in ruminants. ![]()
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