Infection by Coxiella burnetii in a patient from a rural area of Monteria, Colombia

2015 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. 958-961 ◽  
Author(s):  
Salim Mattar V ◽  
Verónica Contreras C ◽  
Marco Gonzalez T ◽  
Francisco Camargo ◽  
Jaime Alvarez ◽  
...  

<p>Q fever is a zoonosis caused by <em>Coxiella burnetii</em>. In Colombia, there have been very few human cases reported to date. This report describes the case of a 56-year-old patient with a background in agriculture and livestock handling. An indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) showed high titers of IgG for <em>C. burnetii</em> anti-phase I (1: 256) and anti-phase II (1:1024). For the next six months the patient’s IgG antibody titers remained high, and, after treatment with doxycycline, the IgG antibody titers decreased to 50 % (anti-phase I 1:128 and anti-phase II 1:512); this profile suggests an infection of <em>C. burnetii</em>.</p>

2012 ◽  
Vol 19 (10) ◽  
pp. 1661-1666 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. C. H. Wielders ◽  
L. M. Kampschreur ◽  
P. M. Schneeberger ◽  
M. M. Jager ◽  
A. I. M. Hoepelman ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTLittle is known about the effect of timing of antibiotic treatment on development of IgG antibodies following acute Q fever. We studied IgG antibody responses in symptomatic patients diagnosed either before or during development of the serologic response toCoxiella burnetii. Between 15 and 31 May 2009, 186 patients presented with acute Q fever, of which 181 were included in this retrospective study: 91 early-diagnosed (ED) acute Q fever patients, defined as negative IgM phase II enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and positive PCR, and 90 late-diagnosed (LD) acute Q fever patients, defined as positive/dubious IgM phase II ELISA and positive immunofluorescence assay (IFA). Follow-up serology at 3, 6, and 12 months was performed using IFA (IgG phase I and II). High IgG antibody titers were defined as IgG phase II titers of ≥1:1,024 together with IgG phase I titers of ≥1:256. At 12 months, 28.6% of ED patients and 19.5% of LD patients had high IgG antibody titers (P= 0.17). No statistically significant differences were found in frequencies of IgG phase I and IgG phase II antibody titers at all follow-up appointments for adequately and inadequately treated patients overall, as well as for ED and LD patients analyzed separately. Additionally, no significant difference was found in frequencies of high antibody titers and between early (treatment started within 7 days after seeking medical attention) and late timing of treatment. This study indicates that early diagnosis and antibiotic treatment of acute Q fever do not prohibit development of the IgG antibody response.


1996 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-48
Author(s):  
TJ Marrie ◽  
Linda Yates

Western immunoblotting was used to compare the immune response toCoxiella burnetiiphase I and phase II antigens of humans with acute and chronic Q fever with that of infected cats, rabbits, cows and raccoons. The cats, rabbits, cows and raccoons had an immunoblot profile similar to that of the human with chronic Q fever.


1989 ◽  
Vol 102 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas J. Marrie ◽  
Donald Langille ◽  
Vasilia Papukna ◽  
Linda Yates

SUMMARYWe describe an outbreak of Q fever affecting 16 of 32 employees at a truck repair plant. None of the cases were exposed to cattle, sheep or goats. the traditional reservoirs of Q fever. The cases did not work, live on, or visit farms or attend livestock auctions. One of the employees had a cat which gave birth to kittens 2 weeks prior to the first case of Q fever in the plant. The cat owner fed the kittens every day before coming to work as the cat would not let the kittens suckle. Serum from the cat had high antibody titres to phase I and phase IICoxiella burnetiiantigens. The attack rate among the employees where the cat owner worked. 13 of 19 (68%), was higher than that of employees elsewhere, 3 of 13 (28%) [P <0·01]. The cat owner's wife and son also developed Q fever. None of the family members of the other employees with Q fever was so affected.We conclude that this outbreak of Q fever probably resulted from exposure to the contaminated clothing of the cat owner.


2008 ◽  
Vol 137 (5) ◽  
pp. 744-751 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. WEBSTER ◽  
D. HAASE ◽  
T. J. MARRIE ◽  
N. CAMPBELL ◽  
J. PETTIPAS ◽  
...  

SUMMARYIn Atlantic Canada, the traditional risk factor for acquisition of Q fever infection has been exposure to infected parturient cats or newborn kittens. In this study we describe the first case of Q fever in Nova Scotia acquired as a result of direct exposure to sheep. A serosurvey of the associated flock was undertaken using an indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) testing for antibodies to phase I and phase IICoxiella burnetiiantigens. This serosurvey revealed that 23 of 46 sheep (50%) were seropositive for the phase II antibody. Four of these sheep had titres of 1:64 including three nursing ewes, one of which had delivered two lambs that died shortly after delivery. Only one ewe had phase I antibodies but had the study's highest phase II antibody titre (1:128). Molecular studies using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) failed to detectC. burnetiiDNA in any of the milk specimens.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shengdong Luo ◽  
Zemin He ◽  
Zhihui Sun ◽  
Yonghui Yu ◽  
Yongqiang Jiang ◽  
...  

AbstractCoxiella burnetii is a Gram-negative, facultative intracellular microorganism that can cause acute or chronic Q fever in human. It was recognized as an obligate intracellular organism until the revolutionary design of an axenic cystine culture medium (ACCM). Present axenic culture of C. burnetii strictly requires a hypoxic condition (<10% oxygen). Here we investigated the normoxic growth of C. burnetii strains in ACCM-2 with or without tryptophan supplementation. Three C. burnetii strains - Henzerling phase I, Nine Mile phase II and a Nine Mile phase II transformant, were included. The transformant contains a pMMGK plasmid that is composed of a RSF1010 ori, a repABC operon, an eGFP gene and a kanamycin resistance cassette. We found that, under normoxia if staring from an appropriate concentration of fresh age inocula, Nine Mile phase II can grow significantly in ACCM-2 with tryptophan, while the transformant can grow robustly in ACCM-2 with or without tryptophan. In contrast, long-term frozen stocks of phase II and its transformant, and Henzerling phase I of different ages had no growth capability under normoxia under any circumstances. Furthermore, frozen stocks of the transformant consistently caused large splenomegaly in SCID mice, while wild type Nine Mile phase II induced a lesser extent of splenomegaly. Taken together, our data show that normoxic cultivation of phase II C. burnetii can be achieved under certain conditions. Our data suggests that tryptophan and an unknown temperature sensitive signal are involved in the expression of genes for normoxic growth regulated by quorum sensing in C. burnetii.


2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 418-424 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariana Campos Fontalvo ◽  
Isis Assis Braga ◽  
Daniel Moura Aguiar ◽  
Mauricio Claudio Horta

Abstract The aim of the present study was to estimate the occurrence of Ehrlichia canis in cats from the semiarid region of Northeast of Brazil. Sera of 101 healthy cats were submitted by Indirect Immunofluorescence Assay (IFA), and considered positive when antibody titers ≥ 40 were obtained. Seroprevalence of 35.6% (36/101) was found, with the following titers: 40 (15 animals); 160 (6); 320 (1); 640 (3), and 2,560 (11). No statistical differences were observed when comparing county of origin, gender, age, breed, and modus vivendi (pet and stray cats), and no ticks were observed in any of the cats. This study revealed exposure to E. canis in cats of the Semiarid Northeast of Brazil.


1999 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 173-177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre-Edouard Fournier ◽  
Didier Raoult

ABSTRACT Diagnosis of acute Q fever is usually confirmed by serology, on the basis of anti-phase II antigen immunoglobulin M (IgM) titers of ≥1:50 and IgG titers of ≥1:200. Phase I antibodies, especially IgG and IgA, are predominant in chronic forms of the disease. However, between January 1982 and June 1998, we observed anti-phase II antigen IgA titers of ≥1:200 as the sole or main antibody response in 10 of 1,034 (0.96%) patients with acute Q fever for whom information was available. In order to determine whether specific epidemiological or clinical factors were associated with these serological profiles, we conducted a retrospective case-control study that included completion of a standardized questionnaire, which was given to 40 matched controls who also suffered from acute Q fever. The mean age of patients with elevated phase II IgA titers was significantly higher than that usually observed for patients with acute Q fever (P = 0.026); the patients were also more likely than controls to live in rural areas (P = 0.026) and to have increased levels of transaminase in blood (P = 0.03). Elevated IgA titers are usually associated with chronic Q fever and are directed mainly at phase I antigens. Although the significance of our findings is unexplained, we herein emphasize the fact that IgA antibodies are not specific for chronic forms of Q fever and that they may occasionally be observed in patients with acute disease. Moreover, as such antibody profiles may not be determined by most laboratories, which test only for total antibody titers to phase I and II antigens, the three isotype-specific Ig titers should be determined as the first step in diagnosing Q fever.


1988 ◽  
Vol 34 (9) ◽  
pp. 1043-1045 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas J. Marrie

A seroepidemiological survey, using an indirect immunofluorescence test, was carried out on serum samples obtained from New Brunswick and Manitoba blood donors during 1986. The antigens were Coxiella burnetii phase I and phase II from strain Nine Mile. Eighty of the 503 (15.9%) Manitoba blood donors had a phase II antibody titer of ≥ 1:8, while 41 (4.2%) of the 966 New Brunswick blood donors had such antibodies. We have recently diagnosed three cases of Q fever in New Brunswick but none have been diagnosed in Manitoba. Our data suggest that Q fever may be increasing in New Brunswick and repeated seroepidemiological studies are indicated. It is likely that undetected cases of Q fever are occurring in Manitoba.


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