1. Tracking the Source of Human Q Fever from a Southern French Village: Sentinel Animals and Environmental Reservoir
- Author
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Younes Laidoudi, Elodie Rousset, Anne-Sophie Dessimoulie, Myriam Prigent, Alizée Raptopoulo, Quentin Huteau, Elisabeth Chabbert, Catherine Navarro, Pierre-Edouard Fournier, Bernard Davoust, Microbes évolution phylogénie et infections (MEPHI), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut Hospitalier Universitaire Méditerranée Infection (IHU Marseille), Laboratoire de Sophia Antipolis, Agence nationale de sécurité sanitaire de l'alimentation, de l'environnement et du travail (ANSES), Laboratoire d'Analyses Médicales Biomed 34, Mireval, Laboratoire d'Etude des Mécanismes Cognitifs (EMC), Université Lumière - Lyon 2 (UL2), Vecteurs - Infections tropicales et méditerranéennes (VITROME), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Institut de Recherche Biomédicale des Armées [Brétigny-sur-Orge] (IRBA), and Centre National de Référence des Rickettsies, Coxiella et Bartonella
- Subjects
Microbiology (medical) ,[SDV.MHEP.ME]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Human health and pathology/Emerging diseases ,[SDV.MHEP.CSC]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Human health and pathology/Cardiology and cardiovascular system ,[SDV.MHEP.MI]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Human health and pathology/Infectious diseases ,Virology ,[SDV.MP.VIR]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Microbiology and Parasitology/Virology ,[SDV.MP.PAR]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Microbiology and Parasitology/Parasitology ,One Health ,Coxiella burnetii ,Q fever ,sentinels ,epidemiology ,Microbiology ,[SDV.MP.BAC]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Microbiology and Parasitology/Bacteriology - Abstract
International audience; Coxiella burnetii, also known as the causal agent of Q fever, is a zoonotic pathogen infecting humans and several animal species. Here, we investigated the epidemiological context of C. burnetii from an area in the Hérault department in southern France, using the One Health paradigm. In total, 13 human cases of Q fever were diagnosed over the last three years in an area comprising four villages. Serological and molecular investigations conducted on the representative animal population, as well as wind data, indicated that some of the recent cases are likely to have originated from a sheepfold, which revealed bacterial contamination and a seroprevalence of 47.6%. However, the clear-cut origin of human cases cannot be ruled out in the absence of molecular data from the patients. Multi-spacer typing based on dual barcoding nanopore sequencing highlighted the occurrence of a new genotype of C. burnetii. In addition, the environmental contamination appeared to be widespread across a perimeter of 6 km due to local wind activity, according to the seroprevalence detected in dogs (12.6%) and horses (8.49%) in the surrounding populations. These findings were helpful in describing the extent of the exposed area and thus supporting the use of dogs and horses as valuable sentinel indicators for monitoring Q fever. The present data clearly highlighted that the epidemiological surveillance of Q fever should be reinforced and improved.
- Published
- 2023