Coxiella burnetii Shedding in Milk and Molecular Typing of Strains Infecting Dairy Cows in Greece

Abstract

Ruminants are considered the commonest animal reservoir for human infection of <i>Coxiella burnetii</i>, the Q fever causative agent. Considering the recently described importance of human Q fever in Greece, we aimed at providing the first comprehensive direct evidence of <i>C. burnetii</i> in dairy cows in Greece, including the genetic characterization of strains. The 462 examined dairy farms represented all geographical areas of Greece. One bulk tank milk sample was collected from every farm and tested for the presence of <i>C. burnetii</i>. Molecular genotyping of strains, performed directly on samples, revealed the existence of two separate clades characterized by single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotypes of type 1 and type 2. The two clades were clearly distinguished in multiple locus variable-number tandem repeat analysis (MLVA) by two discriminative loci: MS30 and MS28. Whereas MLVA profiles of SNP-type 2 clade were closely related to strains described in other European cattle populations, the MLVA profile observed within the SNP type 1 clade highlighted a peculiar genetic signature for Greece, related to genotypes found in sheep and goats in Europe. The shedding of <i>C. burnetii</i> bearing this genotype might have yet undefined human epidemiological consequences. Surveillance of the genetic distribution of <i>C. burnetii</i> from different sources is needed to fully understand the epidemiology of Q fever in Greece.