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The Arabian camel (Camelus dromedarius) as a major reservoir of Q fever in Saudi Arabia

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Abstract

Serum samples from 489 male and female camels were tested for antibodies against Coxiella burnetii using indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Antibodies to C. burnetii were recorded in sera of 252 (51.64 %) camels. Significant differences in prevalence were found between male and female camels, juvenile and adult camels, and different ecotypes and different sampling locations. Three hundred seven camels were simultaneously tested for C. burnetii antibodies by ELISA and indirect immunofluorescence (IFA) tests. Close agreement was found between the results of the two tests. A high prevalence of C. burnetii antibodies was also recorded in milk samples tested by ELISA. Clinical samples from serologically positive camels were subjected to PCR analysis using primers which amplify the repetitive transposon-like and transposase gene regions of C. burnetii. Positive DNA amplification was obtained from both regions, with the highest shedding of C. burnetii in fecal samples (27.59 %) followed, in descending order, by urine (23.81 %), blood (15.85 %), and milk (6.5 %). The present results indicate that camels are a major reservoir of C. burnetii in Saudi Arabia. High prevalence of C. burnetii in camels, poor sanitary standards under which these animals are kept, and the consumption of raw camel milk indicate that camels can also be a major source of Q fever transmission to humans in Saudi Arabia.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Animal Production, College of Agriculture and Food Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

    Mansour F. Hussein, Mohammed A. Alshaikh, Riyadh S. Al-Jumaah, A. GarelNabi, Ibrahim Al-Khalifa & Osama B. Mohammed

  2. Department of Zoology, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

    Mansour F. Hussein, Mohammed A. Alshaikh, Riyadh S. Al-Jumaah, A. GarelNabi, Ibrahim Al-Khalifa & Osama B. Mohammed

Authors
  1. Mansour F. Hussein
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  2. Mohammed A. Alshaikh
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  3. Riyadh S. Al-Jumaah
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  4. A. GarelNabi
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  5. Ibrahim Al-Khalifa
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  6. Osama B. Mohammed
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Correspondence to Mansour F. Hussein.

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Hussein, M.F., Alshaikh, M.A., Al-Jumaah, R.S. et al. The Arabian camel (Camelus dromedarius) as a major reservoir of Q fever in Saudi Arabia. Comp Clin Pathol 24, 887–892 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00580-014-2002-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00580-014-2002-y

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