Prevalence of Q fever in indigenous cattle
Schaal, E.H.; Schafer, J.
Deutsche Tierärztliche Wochenschrift 91(2): 52-56
1984
ISSN/ISBN: 0341-6593 PMID: 6368177 Document Number: 238288
Complement fixation tests were carried out in winter-months of 1981/2 and 1982/3 on blood samples from 5184 cows in 297 dairy herds in the area served by the State Veterinary Investigation Centre at Arnsberg (southern Westphalia). 70 (23.6%) of the herds and 345 (6.7%) of the cows were positive for Coxiella burnetii antibodies. The demonstration, by animal inoculation, of Coxiella in the milk of 57 (53%) of a representative sample of 108 CF-positive cows indicated that the CF test was specific. There was a linear relationship between Coxiella isolation rate and CF titre. None of 173 young cattle (aged 6 months to 2 years) in the 70 positive herds was positive to the CF test. Results of CF tests and capillary agglutination tests were compared. In infected herds 9.5% more cows were positive to the capillary agglutination test than to the CF test. Comparison of these results with previous surveys indicate an increase in prevalence. The biotope for the tick Dermacentor marginatus does not exist in the region surveyed; the role of other possible vectors (game, rodents, birds) is discussed.