Coxiella burnetii, the causative agent of Q fever in Saudi Arabia: molecular detection from camel and other domestic livestock

Abstract

To detect Coxiella burnetii (C. burnetii) DNA in clinical specimens from camel, goats, cattle and sheep in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A total of 367 clinical samples including blood, milk, faeces and urine were collected from different livestock and subjected to PCR amplification using primers which amplify transposon-like region and transposase gene. Positive amplification from both regions was obtained from camel, goats and cattle but not from sheep. A percentage of 10.8% samples yielded positive PCR amplification from both blood and milk, where 15 of 139 blood and 16 of 148 milk samples were positive. Faeces and urine showed higher percentages of positive samples reaching 40.8% and 23.8% respectively. The preferred route of shedding in camel appeared to be the faeces followed by urine, while that of goats appeared to be the faeces and that of the cattle appeared to be the milk.