Abstract:

Background and Aim: Q-fever is a zoonotic disease caused by Coxiella burnetii, a small obligate intracellular gram-negative bacterium that is prevalent throughout the world. Cattle, sheep and goats are the main sources of human infection and shed organisms in their milk. Therefore, consumption of raw milk may be source of infection. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence rate of Coxiella burentii in bulk tank milk (BTM) samples, which collected from rural dairy cattles in Shahrekord.

Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted from January to May 2014. Totally, 50 bulk tank milk samples were obtained from rural dairy cattles and were tested for C. burnetii by Nested-PCR assay.

Results: In this survey, 16 out of 50 (32%) cow bulk tank milk samples were positive for presence of Coxiella burnetii. The prevalence rate of C.burnetii in winter and spring seasons was 36% and 28%, respectively.

‍Conclusion: These results indicated that cow milk can be one of the potential sources of C. burnetii in this area of Iran.