Detection of Coxiella burnetii in Kerman dairy cattle by real-time PCR

Introduction and Objectives: Coxiella burnetii, an obligate intracellular bacterium, is the cause of a zoonotic disease named Q fever. People get infected usually by breathing in dust that has been contaminated by infected animal feces, urine, milk, and birth products that contain C.burnetii. The aim of this study was to detect C. burnetii in milk samples belonging to bulk tanks of dairy cattle farms in Kerman city.Materials and Methods: In this study, 48 milk samples were obtained. After deoxynucleic acid extraction, a sequence named IS1111 was screened by specific primers in real-time polymerase chain reaction.Results: Results showed that 8 samples (16.6%) were positive for C.burnetii.Conclusion: Raw milk is one of the potential transmission routes of C. burnetii in Kerman, showing the significance of milk hygiene processes to prevent the transmission of this pathogen through raw dairy products.

Keywords:

Coxiella Burnetti , real-time PCR , milk , Kerman