Progression of Q fever and Coxiella burnetii shedding in milk after an outbreak of enzootic abortion in a goat herd.

摘要

An outbreak of reproductive failure and abortions related to Q fever in a 60-goat herd (56 does and 4 males) in France in the spring of 2002 is reported. The first abortion occurred in 3 April, after which 9 goats delivered stillbirths and 6 others delivered weak kids 1 month later. The diagnosis of C. burnetii was confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). In the next kidding season, only 1 abortion and 3 weak kids were recorded. C. burnetii was not detected in the genital tracts of any of the goats after this period. Analysis of milk samples of goats that kidded before 10 June 2002 showed that only goats that had aborted shed the bacteria in their milk. A serological survey conducted in May 2003 showed that 33 (60%) goats were positive by ELISA, which decreased to 27 (48%) goats in September. In conclusion, goats experiencing reproductive failure associated with Q fever at the first kidding may not shed C. burnetii at later kiddings, which may then have a successful outcome. It suggested that C. burnetii excretion in the milk of infected goats persists for nearly 3 months after kidding but seems to be limited to the first kidding season.